A Game Of Legends
by NinjaFennekin
Summary: There was a legend. Now, the legend is broken and Dialga is the only one who knows the truth. With Ash destined to be with another, can he find a way to be with the one he truly loves AND manage to save the world? Slight poke/belle/rocket/novelshipping. Advanceshipping vs. Pearlshipping, AaMayL, AshxMay. M at parts.
1. In The Beginning

**Thanks for choosing to tryout my story!**

**This is a re-upload of the original version, since I decided to switch the whole thing from first to third person view. I also fixed some grammar and spelling mistakes. The next few chapters may be still first person when you read them. I'm not sure how long it will take me to change them all and when i'll do them. **

**Anyway, as I always say,**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Years ago, her journey started. A twelve year old girl, finally taking interest in contests and Pokémon after watching too much TV, eating too much cake and only wanting to sightsee, set off to choose her first Pokémon. But it would not only be her Pokémon, but her best friend and partner, and this was what made the decision so hard. She set off on my bike that day, and made a bad start, but that's okay, because at last, she chose a Torchic, a fire type. I heard an hour after she left, a ferry arrived from Pallet Town and there were a few troubles, but she didn't go back. What would be the point? She was just starting out, so she would of been more of a burden than a help.<p>

Her name? Her name was May Maple of Petalburg City.

So May started her journey alone. She never met anyone of interest.

No one she would want to travel with anyway...

About a year later, I was competing in The Hoenn Grand Festival, and what a privilege it was! During the festival, Torchic evolved into Combusken, and she met her first Rival, Drew. He offered to travel with her, but she refused. Something felt wrong, tugging on her now and then. She would of said no anyway...

Something told her she should have gone back that first day. It sounded silly, but it felt like something might have went wrong, or she could of helped in some way. Maybe something should of happened? Maybe she should have met someone...

May could see Combusken sensed this too, but she never let it bother her. They, along with her other strong and hardy pokemon, placed second in the Grand Festival to an excellent Co-ordinator named Robert. They agreed that next time they met, their battle would be just as competitive. Drew helped her decide to move onto Kanto, and by then, she was Thirteen. Finally a teenager, she started to notice things she wouldn't of when when was Twelve. She was noticing how cute boys were, sometimes it creeped the still young girl out, other times it felt nice. Of course she had never thought about Drew this way, to her he was just a rival, not even a friend.

So, moving onto Kanto with her newly evolved Combusken, May took with her Skitty, Beautifly, Eevee and Munchlax. Drew came too, as May knew he would and she met Harley soon after arriving. Meeting Harley is a memory she would happily erase. All he ever brought her was pain and grief. Thinking about him made May's stomach twist into knots and her eyes to water, but not any more. She had almost gotten over what he tried to do to her. Almost.

Yes, Harley tried to rape May.

... She caught a Squirtle and a Bulbasaur in Kanto. She took them with her to the next region she went to as well. And, as she did in Hoenn, she competed in the Grand Festival, placing fourth, losing to Drew. This didn't upset her at all, because all of his pokemon were grass and she had chosen Squitle. On the way to the ferry she travelled with a Morrison, who was going home after losing to a boy and his Pikachu in the Hoenn league.

Her next stop was Johto, where she would participate in even more contests. Within the first contest, Combusken evolved. Blaziken was very strong, and Eevee evolved to Glaceon with the help of an Ice Pokémon master. She owed him one. May was now Fourteen, and Drew was acting strange. Her feelings for him changed, and she wanted to be around him more. So, they finally travelled together. Of course, she quickly realised that it was a crush. But shenever understood why he was the one? Of course, she didn't care. She felt safe around him, the pulling stopped and she didn't think about my first day back in Hoenn. Like most girls in her school had, she wanted to find her 'Prince Charming'. Did Drew fill all the holes? She was still a little too young to know.

In the Johto Grand Festival, she placed third and Drew came fourth. And this was not long ago. That is what led up to now.

Flashback

_Drew and May sat by the beach, it was a warm Sunday afternoon. The blue from the sky was fading to Orange, blotches of Pink scattered the sky. No doubt, it was a beautiful night. Thinking of all of her adventures, May sighed happily, and closed her eyes, embracing the light breeze with her face. May had just lost the Johto Grand Festival, but she wasn't bothered. She opened her eyes again and looked at the Co-Ordinator next to her, her travelling companion, the green haired Drew._

_But Drew was not as happy as May was, as he sat frowning at the sea, throwing pebbles, allowing them to skip along the water before plopping back._

_"Drew? Is something bothering you?" May asked politely, noticing his unusual quietness and dismay._

_"I've just been... thinking. When we met, it felt like someone was missing. Someone important, more to you than me." Drew buried his face in his hands and sighed. May, however, was shocked._

_"Drew, I felt the exact same thing." And She began stroking her chin, causing Drew to giggle. Not for long._

_"As we're on the subject of feelings..." Drew began, "... I never really had the courage to tell you this, but..." Drew hesitated and looked to the ground, leaving May confused. She had never seen his this torn before, and she knew him well due to the memories they shared._

_"Drew, you know you can tell me anything, anything at all. I will listen." May smiled, trying to give him the confidence to tell her what he felt._

_"I've known you for such a long time now, May. It feels like I've known you forever. During the times we've helped each other, and the times we've fought, I've developed... well... I'm not sure how to say it." Wow. Who knew sitting on a beach and talking could become so awkward?_

_Then May realised what was coming next and her eyes widened at the thought. 'It can't be...'_

_"Ah, what the heck May, I love you. I have since the start of Johto. He looked for a response. But none came. Words did not come naturally to May any more as she tried to think of what to say. Her heart felt as if it would burst. A lump formed in her throat._

_"Drew I... I don't know what to say any more..." May had never felt that strong for anyone, not even Drew. "I'm scared Drew. Of love, and... Words finally came to her. She wanted to tell him, but she was scared to how he would react to the news._

_"Why?" He said sternly, as if he was pulling the answer from her, she told him;_

_"A year ago, Harley... he..." Her voice turned from normal pitched to a whispered cry, "He tried to rape me." Drew's face turned almost white. Was she serious? "I'm sorry Drew, I love you, but not in the way you're hoping for." May no longer felt shy, she had told him everything. She couldn't pretend any more, the feeling that was inside her pulled her away from him, no matter how hard she fought back, and somehow, she had managed to win his heart without trying. That had to be a good thing, right?_

_Drew stood up slowly and started to walk away towards the pokémon centre. "Drew..." May held out her arm as if she could stop him with an invisible force, but he kept walking. Slowly, she pulled her arm back in and held her hand to her chest, fists clenched._

_"You don't have to say anything." His voice was lower than usual, just loud enough for May to hear, and harsh. He walked away, leaving May sitting alone._

_And she stayed that way for a few more hours. A few tears fell, she never meant to hurt Drew like that, but she just didn't feel anything as strong as love. Someone was missing, and she was still waiting for her 'Prince Charming' as she liked to call it. Someone out there was the one for her, and it wasn't him._

_When May finally got back to the centre, Drew was already sleeping in one of the single beds, his eyes were red from crying, and he was sort of... half on and half off the bed._

_"Oh Drew..." May whispered and pulled the covers over him before going to her own bed._

_The next morning, when she woke, Drew had already left. The room smelt of his cologne, so she figured he had left not long ago, so she rushed to get dressed, she didn't even put her bandanna on, and ran. Out of the pokémon centre, and out to the port. She ran so fast, she didn't realise she was capable of such speed. 'Please, still be here...' She pleaded in her head. When she arrived, Drew was on the back of a large ferry, looking right at her._

_"DREW!" She screamed, but he looked away. She fell to her knees and began crying, the ship still wasn't far away. "Please, don't leave me!" She cried, aware that he couldn't hear her._

_"Please..." She whispered. May wasn't ready to lose her best friend, and now, she was alone again. So very alone. And she hated it._

_Later that day, May found a note on the table by her bed, Drew had gone to the Unova region, to participate in contests there. He warned her not to follow him. As much as she wanted to, she didn't want to upset him. So she decided where she should go next..._

_One of the less important things to May was, the next day was her birthday, too. _

Flashback End

That day changed May's life. She decided where she would go next. Something was telling her that this certain place would be the perfect point. May had also heard it was a nice region. Blaziken felt it too, as she was very desperate to go. May didn't disappoint her. After visiting her parents and celebrating her fifteenth birthday, they got on a ferry...

A ferry to Sinnoh.

...

Ash looked over at Dawn once more, her face hadn't changed in the last half an hour, twisted and sour. Dawn was in a horrible mood and nobody knew why. Usually Brock would be able to figure out, but this time he had no clue. Ash thought maybe he should ask, but decided not to, because as soon as he tried to talk to her she would only scowl at him or not listen. And in the last town she didn't bother entering the contest... Dawn loved participating in contests. Pikachu hopped off his shoulder and sniffed the air, smiling happily. If only Dawn could be as happy as Pikachu. The sun was begging to set as the gang sat on the grass to eat, but nobody spoke a word. Ash (attempted to) set up the tents, and Brock began stirring the stew he was making. Dawn had gone for a walk in the forest, Ash only hoped she was okay... "Hey Brock, what do you think is up with Dawn?" He asked out of the blue.

"Ash, god-damn it I've told you, it's beyond me. We haven't done anything... I hope. Anyway, why do you keep asking about her? Do you like her or something?" He giggled at his own joke. Ash pulled up a lump of grass and threw it at him, making him burst into uncontrollable laughter. Then they noticed Dawn was standing by the trees, just watching them. Ash looked over his shoulder at her, a look of confusion on his face. They stared like this for a while, neither saying anything. Brock was now staring at Dawn too. For some reason, Ash found this funny. But, at the same time, he wanted to know what the hell Dawn was doing just staring at them. She had no expression on her face, and she seemed very pale... He moved just a few inches towards her and she stepped back.

"Dawn... I'm not going to hurt you... You're starting to worry me..." Ash held out his hand for her to take, but Dawn had other ideas. She leaned in and bit his hand, hard. He screamed in pain and pulled his hand back. Brock had rose from the grass and was watching Dawn carefully, in case she made another move.

"Ash Ketchum, the boy who will change the future." It was Dawn speaking, but it wasn't her voice, it was a low hiss. "You will soon learn your purpose, if you go to Celestic Town..." Ash wasn't sure how to answer, because he had no idea what she was talking about. "Go!" she screamed.

"Dawn... I don't know what you're talking about..." He stepped back, as it seemed she was getting closer.

"You and I may make great allies some day. Go see the legends for now." Dawn's voice became feeble and weak. She ran to him, and blacked out in his arms. He was still in shock, and what legend was she talking about? Pikachu shook Dawn's arm, but she was completely out. Ash nodded at Brock and the boys began to run in the direction of the Pokémon centre.

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><p><strong>Well that was the first chapter. <strong>

**This was just an introduction chapter, and the next chapters will hopefully get better. Unfortunately, for some time, the chapters may be in first person and make little sense compared to the later ones. Sorry if this annoys you.**

**Anyway, please review! Thanks!**

**Infernape**


	2. New Land

**Yet again, this is another re-upload. **

**I haven't got much to say here, except, I hope you like it!**

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><p>May sat up and stretched her arms, yawning. She hadn't slept much the night before, thinking about Drew and Harley. It was strange, because she was having nightmares... Things she couldn't explain. In her mind, it looked like the shadow of a boy, but then, he just disappeared, and she's falling... Falling forever...<p>

May shuddered from thinking about it and sat up from her make-do bed. It was a good job she got on a ferry with rooms, because the journey across the sea was extremely long. With one more stretch and yawn,she went into the bathroom to get ready. Mom had made me a new outfit for Sinnoh, but something told me to wear my old Hoenn outfit, so I did. I looked at myself in the mirror, it only fit because my Mom had made one that looked just the same, as I had expected she had done.. Well, May didn't care, because she actually though it looked pretty good. She tied her red bandanna around her silky brunette hair and stepped carefully out of the room and shut the door behind her. Stepping to the deck, she could see only two people, One with purple hair, or was it blue...? There was also a girl, her pink/red hair swung around her back, making May wonder how she kept it up like that. She guessed they were about Eighteen. They looked fishy, as they wore white suits, with a big R on the front. The girl had a very short skirt on, it didn't look very good on her.

"Jessie, where is Meowth?" The lavender haired boy asked. So now May knew the girl was called Jessie. She was being nosy, listening in.

"He's being lazy as usual, you go try to wake him. Last time I did he scratched my face." She rubbed her face, "My beautiful face!" and she covered her face with her right arm, as if crying. May giggled and looked over the rails. It was a hot day, the sun beat down on her face, causing me to squint. In the distance, something was appearing... Land! "Sinnoh!" She screamed a little too loudly and leaned over, getting a closer look. She could see the port, and a huge building, most likely the Pokémon Centre. Looking to her left, she could see the two others were just as excited as me.

"Time to catch us a Pikachu!" Jessie shouted and punched the air. But surely if they wanted a Pikachu, Kanto would be the best place? May shook her head, they seemed mad to her.

The ship stopped by the port, and she ran off and looked around. Sinnoh's buildings were the same as everywhere else, but there was something magical about this place. May ran in the direction of the Pokémon centre, but stopped herself. What was the point? She wanted to take part in her first contest as soon as possible!

...

He woke up and rubbed his eyes, it seems Ash had fallen asleep in a chair...

What had happened again?

Then it all came flooding back to him. He and Brock had brought Dawn back to the Pokémon Centre after she fainted. Everything she had said kept repeating in his head. He looked to my right. Dawn was lying in the hospital bed, sleeping peacefully. She had one hand placed on her chest, which was raising up and down slowly. Ash took hold her hand. "Please be okay Dawn." Heshut my eyes and held her one hand his two. He wasn't scared about her biting his hand any more, he just wanted her to be okay.

He heard giggling from behind him, so he looked over to the door. Brock was standing by it, wiggling his eyebrows and whistling. "Bastard, this isn't the time!" I growled, and his face fell.

"Where am I?" They both jumped at the sound of Dawn's voice. Partly because Ash was happy she was okay, and also because he was still holding her hand. She was looking at where her hand and his had been. She looked slowly up at Ash, a look of worry plastered on her face.

"Dawn, are you okay?" He asked cautiously.

"I feel fine... What happened?" Dawn sat up and looked around, noticing Brock and Pikachu at the other side of the room, she smiled. Ash grabbed this chance. Seeing her sitting up, he wrapped his arms around her, embracing her in a warm hug. He couldn't see, but he could tell Brock was smiling, and Dawn was blushing.

...

"How many times will I pass this building?" May screamed as the big skyscraper appeared once more. It was just a poketch company building, but she hated seeing it now. It seemed she had been walking in a circle for more than an hour, and now she was sick. She collapsed to my knees and sighed. Things couldn't get much worse, she was alone and if she got into trouble, nobody would be there to help her.

"Can I help you?" She jumped up and twirled around. A boy, around the same age as May loomed over her. He looked quite intimidating. He had dark purple hair and he was giving her a dirty look. May stood up and stepped back a bit, not sure whether she could trust this boy or not.

"I'm not going to hurt you or anything." The boy held out his hand for her. "Paul's the name." He smiled, almost looking evil. He wasn't made for smiling. Still, she took his hand and shook it.

"My name is May. Nice to meet you."

"You're lost, aren't you?" She hated to admit it, but he had hit the nail on the head. She just nodded, ashamed, in reply. "Hey, it's okay, this city is a big place, let me show you where the gym is."

"Oh, I'm not here for a gym battle, I want to participate in a contest here." May corrected him.

"Sorry May, but the contest was yesterday, the next one is in Pastoria Town, but I'm going there anyway, if you want to come..." She thought about this for a while, after all, she had just met the guy. He seemed nice enough, but what if he wasn't as nice as he seemed?

"How about we go get some ice cream first, and get to know each other better?"

"Sounds good to me." Paul shrugged, and they walked off side by side to the ice cream parlour.

"What was that for?" Dawn asked. Ash scratched the back of his head with his hand.

"I'm just glad you're okay, that's all." He answered quite nervously. Brock was grinning, and Ash wished he would get out.

"Can I leave now? I'm fine." Dawn stood up, and I gave her an uncertain look. "I'm fine, no need to worry!" She winked.

"I'm not sure you're ready, missy." They all jumped at the new voice. It was Nurse Joy.

"What do you mean not ready?" Dawn posed "It was just me having a bad moment."

"It wasn't just a bad moment, we think... We think it may have been a Pokémon using you to communicate with your friends. Ash told me what you said, it seems to me, it might have been Dialga."

"WHAT?" Pikachu's trainer shouted, making the mouse pokemon jump off his shoulder. It couldn't of been Dialga! Why would Dialga want to communicate with Ash? Then, he noticed it. Dawn's face had gone horribly pale again, her eyes were red, and she was standing deadly stiff. "No no no..." He pleaded and grabbed her arms and shook her. "Dawn? Fight it off!" He screamed at her, but she pushed him back, with such force. No one had ever seen her this strong. With a flick of her hand, the window was smashed into pieces.

"Dawn, you have to fight it off, we know you're strong enough!" Brock tried the same approach, but Dawn jumped out of the window and ran away.

"Celestic Town is the next destination." Dawn shouted and laughed as she ran. Ash's head hurt bad, this was all confusing him, and why did she want to go to Celestic Town so much? Brock was already running after Dawn, and Ash set off himself, soon catching up. He hated to admit it, but he was scared. What if Dawn got worse? It was bad enough losing Misty..."

"She's getting too weak now..." It was Dawn's voice this time. She tried to run again, but collapsed once more, this time on the floor.

"Dawn!" Ash and Brock shouted in unison as hey ran over to her.

...

"Dawn!" They heard the screaming nearby and May looked over, but Paul didn't look at all.

"Who was that Paul? Don't you think we should go help?" She asked, tugging at his arm a little.

"It's just a bunch of pathetic losers, they do this EVERY day." He sighed.

"They get in trouble every day?" Hmm. They kept walking, and soon were sitting in the parlour with their ice creams. Usually she would eat really messily, and eat a lot for a girl her age, but today she tried to be more lady-like. She didn't want Paul to think she had no manners. Nobody said anything for a while, until she spoke up.

"So, you go to gyms and battle, right?"

"Yeah. Most of them have been easy so far, the next one should be a piece of cake." _Wow. Confident Guy... _"And you do contests?" He added.

"Yes, I've competed in the Johto, Kanto and Hoenn Grand Festival. Once, I came second." May boasted happily.

"Nice, shame you lost though." Paul said between licks.

"So... You knew those guys out there, the ones that were screaming " She changed the subject, in fear of accidentally telling him something she didn't mean to.

"Yes. But to be honest, I wish I didn't. Bunch of losers. Especially the boy. Pathetic." Paul scowled.

"What did they ever do to you?" She asked, a bit annoyed at his attitude.

"They're just annoying and Pathetic, plus, who cares if Dawn get's hurt. At least maybe the boy will shut up..."

"Wha...?"

"It's quite obvious he likes her, so if she gets hurt, he might shut up." And that was it. May stood up and left, her nose in the air. "May wait, where are you going?" Paul shouted back, but she didn't answer. She certainly didn't want to be his friend, if he was secretly going to think that about her. Hmph. She decided she wanted to meet Dawn, so she went back to the area where we had heard the screaming, but it was protected with police banners.

The floor was covered, in a purple goo-like substance, a girls body lay beside it, but not inside it. She had dark blue hair, with a few light higlights. May couldn't see the colour of her eyes, because she had them shut. She wore a small black and pink dress, with a vest underneath. Her face was perfect, no spots, no dark circles under her eyes, just a clear face. One building, a rather large skyscraper, had a huge TV, broadcasting the news.

"Police are struck dumb after the disappearance of a fifteen year old boy, yet to be named. It is said that the boy was attacked by his girlfriend, and strange liquid appeared all over the ground, absorbing in bins, lamp-posts, and him." The TV reporter announced. May heard several people gasp, some stepped back. Is that really what happened there? She looked at the girl again, an older boy was now leaning over her. He looked foreign, and his hair was spiked up, and brown.

Suddenly, the girl shot up. May moved back too this time, she didn't want be attacked too...

"Ash?" She looked up and saw the older boy, he smiled weakly at her, but she pushed him away. Nurse Joy tried to step it, but Officer Jenny pulled her back. "ASH? Where is he Brock? Where?" She panicked. Her eyes were wide, and now May could see they were aqua, like her hair.

"Dawn. Calm down." So she was Dawn? She took a few deep breaths and asked once again where he was. "When you were... not yourself, you attacked him, and he disappeared. Into the floor..." Brock pointed to to the purple sticky liquid on the floor. Dawns face was a picture. Shock and disbelief must have taken over, as she fell to the floor crying. Muttering that it was all her fault. May began walking to her. She stepped over the banner, but nobody said anything.

"Dawn?" I held out my hand to help her up. She looked up, her eyes red and puffy. Her face turned from shock to anger.

"May." She scowled.

How did she know her name?

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><p><strong>PLEASE READ:<strong>

**If you see that any of the chapters are still in first person as you read, don't read them. I'm working on switching all of them to third person, and it WON'T make much sense in first. Trust me. Just leave it and I'll update them as soon as possible.**

**Also, if I left any first person bits in there, please tell me and I'll fix it.**

**Infernape**


	3. Reverse World

**This one is very short, I've realized. I hope it isn't a problem, since the chapters get longer as you read on. **

**I'll try and update the following chapters soon,**

**Enjoy**

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><p>Why is everything so dark? So cold? Ash couldn't feel his hands any more. The darkness had taken over. No smells, no sights, nothing to touch, just darkness. The feeling was like sickness, but worse. He felt himself falling, but he wasn't, or was he? It made no sense, until he hit the bottom. Usually, in these situations, Ash would be fine, and find a way to pull through, but he had never felt anything so powerful before, and this time seemed different. He felt like this was the end. The pulling force became stronger and stronger, harder and harder. It may have only lasted for a few minutes, but it was something Ash will never forget.<p>

And then it all stopped, and light flooded into his eyes, the violet colour of the sky and the muddy colour of the earth beneath him. Indigo clouds hovered above him, and all around. Large buildings stood side by side, but in an unusual way. Some were defying gravity, hanging from soil, that was staying perfectly in place in the sky. Some were sticking out of walls. This place certainly wasn't the real world, but at least the falling was over. Getting to his feet, he looked around for any signs of life, even just a small piece, like an insect, but found none. So he screamed for help, hoping for an answer. None came. '_God-dammit, what the hell is this place?_' Ash's mind was spinning and he just wanted to get back to Dawn and Brock. Even seeing Paul down here would make him happier.

Just two days ago, everything had been fine, Dawn, Brock and Ash had travelled like they usually did, but then, after Dawn was possessed that day, things changed. He couldn't think straight. He was always worried about her, as anybody else would be. Nightmares haunted him at night, of things he couldn't explain, even if he knew what they meant. Then, worst of all, this. He could take the nightmares and the worrying, but not being trapped in another dimension while his best friend could be dying. Or maybe they thought he was dead? Even Pikachu was in the real world. All he had was Buizel and Monferno, because all the others were being treated by Nurse Joy. But maybe she wasn't bothering, because she thought Ash was dead?

Then Ash realised that thinking all that at the same time wasn't going to make his head any better. All he knew was that he needed to find a way out. One of the purple clouds passed over him, making him choke and splutter. He covered his mouth with his right hand as he walked on, trying to find a way out, since all he could see above and behind him was purple. Purple darkness.

Ash started to walk around some more, sometimes gravity would shift and he would be hanging upside down, and if he jumped he would hover for a while, it was like swimming in air. He climbed up the side of one building and went inside a window. Inside, things were floating. Things like tables and chairs, the usual stuff you would find in a house. But he wondered why they were here? After all, no one could possibly live in a place like this. Or could they...?

...

Dawn woke up once more, this time in a Pokémon centre. The events that had unfolded the day before still had May in a daze. She had gotten lost in Sinnoh, as soon as she arrived. She had met a guy called Paul, who seemed nice, but really had an aggressive nature. A boy had disappeared into the ground and a girl knew her name even though they had never met. For some reason she wished Drew was there, at least there would be someone to talk to. The older boy called Brock had not been seen since he was pushed by Dawn, it seems he ran to see someone, or get something.

"Who are you?" Dawn said, leaning away from me, but still lying down in the bed. She had fallen asleep eventually after panicking and shouting for a while, and she had only just woken up.

"I thought you knew my name." This was all so confusing and May was starting to wonder whether she should of gone to Unova with Drew. There was still time though... she could of caught the ferry that day.

"No." Dawn finally began, "I've never seen you before. So why are you here " Dawn seemed so calm. May figured this had happened to her before, since she wasn't worried, and she didn't ask where she was or what she was doing there.

"To be honest, I don't know myself. I guess I was next to you when you passed out. I met this guy called Paul an-"

"Stay away from him. He is a nasty know it all. He's always trying to wind Ash up." Dawn stopped her mid sentence. May cringed when I heard her say Ash, because she knew what was coming next.

"Where is Ash?" She seemed much calmer this time. May sighed with relief and answered briefly;

"I don't even know who he is, never mind where he is..." She looked away and rolled her eyes down, awkwardly.

"Well you're no help, are you?" Then she turned around and got out of the bed. What was her problem? Did she expect May to magically know where he was. Jesus, she didn't even know the guy. Dawn just picked up a magazine and stuck her nose in it, probably waiting for the doctor. You could of cut the air with a knife. It was so awkward and she seemed like a snob. May wondered if this 'Ash' guy was a snob too. Finally, she decided to go to the nearby mall, because she loved shopping and this girl was annoying her. Maybe she wouldn't make any friends in Sinnoh.

It was about ten thirty when she arrived at the mall. It wasn't too hard to find because it was so big, and May had made a map in my head of where she had walked with Paul and the mall is one of the things she remembered seeing.

The first store she went into was a clothes one. Though she didn't buy anything, because to me, it was out of fashion. It was a 'May thing'. Next, she went into a shoe store, and bought a new pair of red trainers, which she put on straight away in the girls' bathroom.

After about an hour, she still hadn't seen anything of interest, so she decided to go back to the Pokémon centre, and check on Dawn, even though she didn't like her. If Brock didn't go back, she would have no-one, and May knew what that felt like. For sure.

Her intentions were to leave the store, but then she spotted Brock in a grocery store... buying vegetables. She needed to talk to him, because she wasn't sure what was going on in Dawn's head, and if she was even sane. Maybe she was talking rubbish.

"Brock?" May asked, and stuck out my hand for him to shake.

"Can I help you?" He raised one eyebrow at me, and she realised she had said his name, but he didn't know hers, now maybe he thought she was a stalker.

"You're Dawn's friend, right?" She asked, already knowing the answer anyway. Maybe this would make him remember her.

"Oh! I remember you now, you're the one that took Dawn to the Pokémon centre. I would have done it myself, but then I guess I was a bit shocked and upset that Ash had gone missing..."

"Dawn is awake, you know? I'm sure she'd be glad to see you." May tried to change the subject, as he seemed to be getting upset over his friends disappearance.

"Nah, I think she'd much rather see Ash right now, to be honest." Brock picked up a bag of...carrots? Put them in his basket and looked back at her. His eyes were full of pain, but he didn't cry, like he looked like he would.

"She didn't seem to be that worried, considering she just asked where he was once then began reading a magazine." May rolled her eyes and crossed my arms.

"You would of thought she'd be out of bed looking for him."

"Yeah, considering they're boyfriend and girlfriend..." May stated, but it seems I was false.

"Oh, damn news reporters. They're not boyfriend and girlfriend, but I'm sure both of them wish they were." Brock smiled and raised his eyebrows in an approving manner. May didn't know how to respond, because she didn't know Ash or Dawn very well, and this was really none of her business.

"Sorry to bother you anyway, tell Dawn I said goodbye when you go back." May turned around and raised her hand. Once outside, she decided to go back to the place where the boy had disappeared.

...

May peered inside the purple liquid, but she could see nothing. She was just staring at her reflection. It seemed stupid saying a boy had disappeared into this. The puddle had gotten a lot smaller since last time, maybe a few metres smaller, but it was very big to begin with. Gigantic, even.

Then she realised something, and squinted her eyes to see better. The liquid was moving? It was stirring and turning slowly and in small pieces, but it was moving. The sign said do not touch, but she found it hard not to. She wanted to see what it was, because in these situations she become very curious and would often wander into other peoples business. But this time, something inside May told her it was her business too.

So, she stuck out my hand and touched it, just with the end of her index finger, it was sticky like caramel, but she had disturbed it, and a smell was let off. Like rotting eggs and worn socks. She pinched my nose with her other hand, and stuck her finger in further, now it was covering the whole of her index finger. It was enough. That was when the sucking started, and May's eyes widened as she realised what was happening.

She screamed for help.

But then she couldn't breath.

...

Ash was hungry now, very hungry. Too hungry, but then again, when was he ever not hungry?

His thoughts were stopped when a loud thumping sounded nearby. Like someone hitting the ground. And the distance between him and the door of the building seemed to be getting longer...and longer.

And then there was the screaming.

* * *

><p><strong>I hope this chapter was okay, even though it was small. The next one will be longer, I promise. <strong>

**Ninja**


	4. Desperate

.: Chapter 4 :.

"Shit shit shit!" Brock circled the puddle awkwardly, with his hands moving from his mouth to his head then to his eyes and back to his mouth again as he tried to figure out what to do. Nothing had ever gotten this bad before. Usually he would trust Ash to get out by himself, but this time, he wasn't sure...

Brock mentally slapped himself awake.

"Pull yourself together Brock!" He told himself. He had an idea of what he could do, but Dawn wouldn't be strong enough to help him with his plan. He was going to need two people too. Dawn could be one of them. Who else could help though? He didn't know anyone else in Sinnoh... or did he?

Then he bent down, finally with a plan stuck in his head. There was something weird sticking out of the liquid. Brock pulled it out and straightened it on the ground, causing a bit of purple smudge on his hand. Once it was fully stretched out, he could see what it was. It was a red bandanna.

...

The walls of the room May was in were fully white, no marks. No nothing. It looked like the place she used to go to in her dreams when she first started my journey. May guessed she'd never know why she actually dreamt about a white room. So this was obviously just a dream. This made her worry a little less because in dreams you can't really get hurt or worse. She just had to wait and soon I would wake up.

May tried to recall what had happened. Oh yeah. Her and her wandering hands had gotten her into this mess. She had fallen in this hell hole through the puddle and had no idea where she was. Right now she as wondering where Drew was and what he was doing.

"Oh come back Drew, I need your help" She screamed.

_Bang_

The room suddenly became brighter as a name appeared on the wall in large print. It was the name 'Ash Ketchum.' . Dawn's friend was called Ash and it took May a while to realise that. Anyway, what did this have to do with her? She had never even met him.

_Bang_

Another name appeared on the other side of the room, it was the name 'May Maple.' . She began pinching herself to wake up. Pinching turned to slapping. Slapping turned to attacking. Something told her to do this. It wasn't hurting, so she bit herself. That didn't hurt either. The names disappeared and she stopped with her fist halfway towards her stomach. The writing was replaced by a large screen of black, almost like a cinema screen. She went a little closer to it and sat down. Her mouth hung open as if she were trying to catch flies.

The video started with May riding to the lab on her bike, happily humming her favourite tune. She had no problem riding up the steep hill since she had thirteen years of practice before that. She used to visit Professor Birch just because she liked him, and she liked hearing his stories of when he travelled.

"I don't even like Pokemon" May snapped out of her daydream. It sounded like her now. She did like them, but she only ever started her journey because she liked to travel. When she arrived at the lab, an assistant told her Professor Birch was out in the mountains and that he had told me to wait at the lab. "Well I'll go find him then. I've never been much good at waiting." But May never remembered him being out in the mountains... Professor Birch was there when she arrived. What was going on here? She rode up the mountains, looking for Professor Birch, on the way she saw many pokemon, but none of them interested her, so she just rode past them. Even though she didn't like them, she tried not to hit them with her bike. She wasn't cruel. When she reached a small cliff edge further up the mountain she saw Professor Birch. He was being chased by a bunch of Poocheyena. May didn't remember this part either, but of course this was only a dream.

"Oh, May. Please, grab one of those Pokeballs in my bag." He called. After a bit of confusion, she chose one, and it turned out to be a Mudkip. She tried to get Mudkip to use water gun, but it used it on her face instead. May laughed because this seemed like something she would do.

Then bolts of lightning flew up from the ground. Since when did they do that? And Professor Birch went running in the direction of them, muttering that 'Pikachu might explode'.

When they arrived at the place we had saw the thunderbolts coming from, a boy was almost getting zapped by a Pikachu who was slowly trying to crawl away, except these thunderbolts were red and looked more powerful then anything May had seen before. The boy was wearing a blue and yellow hoodie, and a red and black hat. His hair was spiky and black, it was kind of cute. His arms were very tanned too. He was probably the same age as me, maybe a year older. The first thought that came to my mind was; 'Cute'

_Wait, did I just think that_?

The boys Pikachu ended up frying her bike, when attacking a giant robot that was trying to take it. Then the lid lifted and they revealed themselves. May was watching it like it was an actual movie, then something alerted her.

"What the heck!?" She screamed and stood up. They were the same people she had seen on the boat to Sinnoh yesterday. Jessie, Meowth and the Purple haired man. They were trying to catch Pikachu...

"_Time to catch us a Pikachu!" Jessie punched the air._

Now she was really confused, what a strange dream. It seemed so real... It felt like things were pulling together to make something she was supposed to understand. But she didn't understand at all. After Pikachu beat Team Rocket, Ash went back to the lab to get Pikachu treated, and she was spying from the door. But, May being May, she knocked the plant pot and had to catch it, making Ash turn around and give her a funny look. She told him she just wanted to introduce herself. She looked so nervous... Then she persuaded him to join her, so they could travel to Petalburg together. And then it ended, and was replaced with pictures, like a slide show of memories that never happened. There was a picture of her and Ash smiling by a couple of Bulbasaurs. My Bulbasaur, and most likely his. There was also one of Ash and May swimming in the sea by some luvdisc, looking at each other. These pictures were bringing my heart to my throat and butterflies to my stomach. This had never happened.

_Why is Ash in my dreams? How do I even know what he looks like. Maybe I just made this image up in my head, because he looks cute. Yeah, that's what happened._

May decided she was making all of this up, and Ash actually looked nothing like this. She only made him look this way, because she liked this look. She was making these memories up in her head. Nonetheless, she still sat and watched.

The next one was of Ash and her with a Lucario, and she was looking at him but he was looking at the camera.

Then an idea came to mind. She was dreaming about her prince charming!? May never wanted to wake up. She could of watched these pictures for forever and a day. The only problem was, if she was making this up, then there was probably nobody that looked exactly the same.

Then a new one came up. This one was of her, on a ferry, and Ash was waving goodbye to her. So was...

"No freakin' way..." The other boy waving was Brock... He was standing right beside the other boy. She held my hand out and touched the screen with the tip of my fingers. "Don't go..." She whispered as she pulled my fingers away from the video. She knelt down on the ground in front of the screen.

So she tried to figure out why it was showing Brock in this picture too. _My mind must work in strange ways_. And she had never travelled with Brock either. Her head must have been messed up. She panicked, what if she had hit her head? Maybe this was heaven... Maybe she was dead... May curled up on the floor and began crying. Not because she thought she was dead, but because all of this had happened so quickly. May didn't know where I was, what was happening to her body, and if she was okay. She knew that the Ketchum boy was down here too but he was probably fat or a snob like Dawn. Brock was okay, but he was on the surface, and she knew that she had fallen somewhere. Her head was throbbing badly and her heart was racing. Her bandanna was gone too, but that didn't matter right now.

Then Everything Stopped.

...

Brock turned another corner, running at what seemed like the speed of light. He had left almost a day ago and Brock needed to catch up with him. He needed _his_ help and he could only pray that _he_ was willing to do something for Ash just this once.

Brock finally spotted him a few minutes later, it turns out he was wrong and he had only just left for the next town.

"What are you doing here?" Paul asked him sternly.

"Ash needs your help, really bad." Brock said in-between breaths.

"Why should I help?" His face looked serious. He was serious. He really didn't care.

"Because he might die Paul." Brock finally caught his breath and crossed his arms, but Paul started to walk away. "You met the girl with the red bandanna right? May?" He called out and Paul stopped.

"What happened to May?" He turned to face me again. He had met her, Brock knew it.

"She is in the same condition, we need you Paul." Paul hesitated. He shuffled his feet a bit.

"Fine I'll do it, but only because I'm in a good mood." Paul walked next to me.

"Suuurreee." I laughed as we re-entered the city. One out of three complete.

...

May lifted my head quite suddenly and quickly. She wasn't dead.

She was in a strange place, buildings were coming from everywhere and violet clouds were floating around only a bit above the ground. Earth was staying in place, above her head. This place was the strangest area she had been too. She was still sitting on the floor, where she had obviously landed when she fell. May rubbed her head a bit. It felt fine and it didn't hurt. But something else did. Her left arm was what she had landed on and it was hurting. She groaned as she tried to stand up and she kept her left arm supported by her Right arm.

"HELP!?" She screamed, and began crying again. This was all making her emotional, more than she'd ever been. Then she remembered the dream and she wished she'd never woken up, making her cry even more. The tears flowed from her eyes and hit the floor. It seemed like she was crying for an eternity. What had she done to deserve this? May wished there was someone who could tell her.

With nothing else left to do, May decided to call Ash's name and prepared for the worst welcome. If he had travelled with Dawn he couldn't be much of a looker, and his personality probably sucked.

"Ash!" May called, cupping her hands around my mouth to make her words louder. "Ash?" She called again. Yet again, she was calling a person she had never met by their first name. He was going to think she was weird.

"You know my name?" A voice behind her sounded. She gasped and twirled around, and bowed before she had even looked at the boy. She straightened up and opened her eyes.

She had to blink a few times to register this picture into her mind.

The boy was the one from the pictures... She felt like she was going to faint. She realised she was finally happy, because the boy in her dream was real, and was Ash. She never wondered how she'd known what he looked like.

But it couldn't be. He was wearing a different outfit to the one in the photo's, his hair was still the same. As cute as ever. His rusty brown eyes were amazing, they seemed to be pulling her in somehow. He was so handsome. So adorable. She couldn't find words. It felt like my mouth was sealed.

"H-H-hi..." May stuttered. How come she had seen this boy in her dream?

"I didn't know there was anyone else down here..." His voice was cute too. Ugh.

"Yeah, I just kind of... dropped in..." She giggled nervously and looked away sweat dropping. He was giggling too. "I kind of heard of you on the news and decided to touch the puddle of liquid..." She found the confidence to make conversation. She realised her eyes were still red from crying and rubbed them viciously.

"Oh..."

"Yeah, I met Dawn too. And Brock. And Paul." She began. Ash's expression turned sour.

"You met Paul?" He asked.

"Yes, he tried to get me to travel with him but I wouldn't. He seems horrible. I take it you two don't get along so well. I don't understand how anyone wouldn't like you." She didn't think about what she was saying then, and it looked like he blushed... "Anyway, I'm May Maple from Hoenn. Nice to meet you" She stuck out her hand for him to shake.

He shook her hand then said, "I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town."

"We need to get out of here. " His face twisted in pain and anger.

"Wait, did you say Pallet Town?" She asked. He nodded.

"And you said Hoenn...?" They both paused for a while.

"Why do I feel I should of met you already?" They spoke in sync, just staring at each other. It felt nice.

* * *

><p><strong>Please Read; ( Again :L )<strong>

**I'm really not all that pleased with this chapter as I said before.**

**And about the two thinking they should of met each other. It's not part of the main story line. It's just a tiny bit of shippy-ness. **

**Ninja**


	5. Savin' Me

.: Chapter 5 :.

They sat by the fire.

Ash had collected some wood. May didn't bother asking where from. It wasn't relevant. What matters was, he had found some. Her yellow bag was still strapped around her waist. It's a shame there was nothing in there that would be helpful. She had her pokémon with her. She wondered if Ash had his.

Ash hadn't said much, come to think of it. He didn't seem shy. Just... upset. May didn't know him well at all, so she couldn't tell. She had to make conversation somehow, but there was still a lump forming in her throat every time she tried to speak. _What is it about certain people that makes me do that? Maybe I'll never know._

He flicked his jet black hair and looked up into the now purple sky. May joined him. You couldn't really tell if it was night or day there. The sky had just stayed the same shade of purple, but May wasn't sure how long she'd been down there. Maybe a day, maybe more. Maybe less. Probably less. Time passes so slow when you're with someone you don't know or you're worrying. And she was worrying. Who wouldn't?

So she prayed, inside her head. She prayed for someone to come and help. It was strange that she wanted Drew here. May tried to concentrate on this, but her thoughts drifted. Now she was thinking about Dawn. Why? Dawn was the kind of girl that seemed snobby. She was so sure she just had the wrong idea though. _I'm sure she's fine_. _Maybe she's trying to help us now._

Ash and May had decided to sit near where she'd landed, partly because she couldn't move her arm properly and her legs hurt too, and also because Ash was sure Brock would come. He told me he would normally be looking for a way out. So why wasn't he this time? _Maybe he wants to stay with me...__ Don't be silly May._ _He just feels sorry for you, that's all._

She had been holding something in for quite a while now. She kept feeling it coming, but kept pushing it back. This time the feeling came stronger, a surge of pain, shock and sadness flowing through her. Touching her inner soul.

And May fainted, right by the fire.

...

"Come on then Paul. We need to go to get Dawn. We'll be needing her help too." Brock said - all but cheerily. Paul didn't answer, he just gave him a look of confusion. Brock realised he'd be holding Dawn back again when Paul asked what her name was - again. He sighed. This couldn't get any worse. He was worried sick for Ash and May, but he knew Ash would be okay and he would keep May safe too.

They arrived at Dawn's room just five minutes later and Brock prepared what he would say to Dawn as they approached her room. He turned the handle slowly. Dawn had been moody since Ash disappeared, he was expecting to get shouted at, the very least. Paul would definitely get it.

"Oh Brock!" She called and ran over, hugging him. He backed away a bit. Dawn had never hugged him, and she was acting so different before. "I'm sorry about my mood swings. I was so mean to May. I'm so worried about Ash." She cried onto his shoulder, he could feel the tears. Brock tried his best to comfort her as she continued to tell him what she had to say. "I want to go to get him but I'm scared Brock. This was all my fault and if Dialga attacks again... I might get him into more trouble. And I don't wish it on him." She cried harder. Even Paul looked like he would cry.

"It's okay Dawn, you can help. You see I have an idea, and I need you. You're going to have to be a big part in this, there's only me, you and Paul." She pulled away from him, her face was red but she was looking happier now. It was likely because of the fact that she could help us get Ash back. So he bent down and they huddled up as Brock told them his plan. For as you know, walls can have ears...

...

"Come on May, wake up already!" Ash shouted once more. He shook her arms ever so desperately. She wouldn't wake up. Her pulse was fine and she was breathing at a steady pace. He pulled her closer to the fire. Having her in this position felt uncomfortable. He moved her head onto his knee and sat with my legs crossed, her body lying across the dirt ground. For what else could he do? He

An idea struck him. He knew it was wrong, but he took her bag and grabbed a pokéball. Without thinking, he threw it into the air. With grace, a Skitty popped from the ball and it returned to my hand. The Skitty looked at Ash and took a few steps back, but he held out his hand for it, and it happily climbed onto his shoulder. The other day he had bought one of the gadgets Paul had, it told him what moves Skitty knew. He wasn't going to use Blizzard. May was already cold. He looked at the others. None would work. He would have to improvise.

So Ash took his jacket off and wrapped it around her arms, causing him to shiver, but he wanted to help.

He remembered Skitty was still on his shoulder, and now it was sleeping and 'purring' happily. It must've been a very friendly Pokémon, it only just met him a minute ago. _Strange._

May stirred in her 'sleep' ever so slightly. Skitty rose from my shoulder and lay next to her, cuddling up against her sore arm. She was going to be okay, Ash could feel it.

Then the fire went out, and they were in the dark, and the cold.

...

"So are we doing this today?" Dawn asked as Brock looked for some rope on the shelves of the store.

"If you want to, Dawn." He replied without looking at her. He finally found some extra strong rope and began to walk to the counter.

"I want to get Ash out of there as soon as possible. Today seems good, it's still day." Dawn was right, it was a long day getting prepared. Still, this as a good thing because now they had all of the stuff they needed. Brock pulled out his phone and sent a message to Paul.

"I'm just texting Paul, he's okay with doing it today. He wants to leave town tommorow. He has been here a long time." Brock told Dawn as we walked to the puddle.

They turned another corner, and they saw it.

Only they didn't see it at first.

"Where is it?" Dawn cried and ran closer. Borck don't know what she saw, but she gasped, loudly too.

"What is it Dawn?" He called, he was running there myself now, curious and worried as to what it was.

"The liquid thing, it's barely big enough for a person to fit through now! We're too late!" Dawn screamed. Brock looked for himself, she was right. The hole was just the size of a normal puddle now, but Dawn was wrong about one thing, it wasn't too late.

"I'm here." Paul said, startling them.

"Paul, I know my original plan was for you to go down and give them the rope, but honestly, the puddle isn't big enough any more," Paul's face twisted, Dawn was crying. "That's why Dawn should go instead." Dawn stopped crying and looked at him, blinking a few times.

"Me? But I'll mess everything up." She spoke fast.

"Dawn." Paul said from behind us. "Do you want Ash back or not?" Brock was surprised at him trying to help her confidence.

"Of course I do... Okay Brock, I'll do it." Maybe this would work after all.

After ten minutes, they had tied the rope tight around Dawn's waist, and the other end, Brock and Paul were holding. There were no lamp-posts nearby to tie it to. Dawn quivered, but she wanted to save them so she carried on.

"Dawn, whenever you're ready!" Brock called, and she took one last long look at the puddle before stepping in.

She stepped into it, after much hesitation. But nothing happened. Brock and Paul loosened the rope a bit, they were confused too. She stomped around in the puddle, making it splash all over her. She growled and jumped in the puddle. It collapsed beneath her and I began falling, screaming. The fall she would never forget. She could feel that Brock and Paul weren't ready, so they might have let go of the rope. Then Dawn would be trapped too. She screamed as she fell, it felt like the speed of light. Never stopping. But it did stop.

...

Ash couldn't sleep. He didn't want to in case something happened. He couldn't tell if it was night or day either. Not that it mattered.

He sat back, sighing, and looked up at the sky. With all the drama, he didn't really notice what a beautiful shade of purple it was.

_Crash! _Ash practically jumped out of his skin and stood up, looking cautiously around. It was dark because the fire had gone out. He could see May's bag so he grabbed it. Ash did have his own Pokémon but he seemed to forget. It seems whatever it was knew he was here too, but stayed silent. He grabbed one of the Pokeballs and threw it. A giant Blaziken emerged and lit up the rest of the area. Ash had to admit, he was impressed. It looked so powerful. Blaziken looked at him, then May. She got the wrong idea.

Ash could hear running. Blaziken shot a fire spin right at him. He rolled on the floor to get away from it. It kept shooting flame throwers at him. Each time he would dodge, but not by much. Blaziken was out speeding me.

"Blaziken please, I'm trying to help May. She hurt her arm." He pointed to May's arm and Blaziken looked. "See?"

"Eep!" Something squeaked in the corner, the same thing as before and Ash heard more running. Blaziken turned, revealing who it was.

"Dawn!" He shouted and started running to her, she looked worried and stressed and she was covered in purple. She began to get nearer to him, but was flung back, it seemed she was pulling too hard on the rope she was tied to. Ash giggled a bit at the sight of her dangling helplessly. He went closer to her and she embraced him with a hug, which he was expecting. He got covered in the purple too, but he didn't mind at all.

"You came for us?" Ash asked when she let go.

"Of course we did." Dawn began. "And we didn't come disorganized either. Here, take a rope, get May to take one."

"...That could be a problem." He stepped out of the way for Dawn to see May.

After a while, he came up with an idea. "Blaziken, return." He called back May's Blaziken and put her yellow bag back on her shoulder. She was still lying on the floor. Ash could feel Dawn's eyes watching his every move. She didn't know what he was doing. He bent down by May and put one of my arms under her legs, making them bend over my arms, and my other arm on her back, and lifted her up. Dawn was all but pleased that he was carrying her, but he wasn't sure why.

Dawn tied the rope around his waist and tugged four times on the rope. They began slowly lifting, and Ash placed his feet against the wall to help whoever was up top pull us up. He said his goodbye to the hell hole in his head and hoped he would never come back. Ever. In the distance, something shimmered, like the outline of a Pokemon... that looked like a centipede but a lot bigger.

Then they could only see black, it was like they were travelling up a tube. Ash looked above him, he could see a small speck of light. The real world wasn't that far away. Dawn looked down at Ash and he smiled, letting her know that he was okay. He was still carrying May.

Then all hell was let loose.

May woke up and her eyes fluttered a bit. Of course she had no idea where she was. Ash didn't see her wake up. The entrance was getting slowly closer.

Ash felt a blow to his chest, May had woken up and she had hit him. She struggled in his arms, kicking her legs. She sunk her teeth into one of his arms and he winced in pain. The entrance was closer. She tried to sit up, unaware that she was being carried by Ash. Then he saw it in her eyes, she knew what was going on now. She looked up at him and he frowned. She looked at his arm which was now bleeding. Ash kept on holding her like this. He heard a gasp from above.

Dawn slipped slightly down the rope, her knot becoming undone, she held on with her bare hands.

Because of the slip, May slipped too.

May was falling back down.

Ash reached out his arm and was hanging upside down holding her hand. She screamed and cried, but when he caught her, her mouth was in an 'o' shape and her eyes were wide, but her pupils were small. She pulled up her other hand and grabbed his with it. He tried to pull her up to carry again, but it was no use. The entrance was getting closer. Now he could see Brock above them, tugging on the rope but struggling. Ash was trying to keep hold of May's hand, but it was becoming more and more difficult.

...

They were tugging hard on the rope, Paul and Brock. They almost had them up. Brock had seen Dawn slipping and May falling, but Paul hadn't.

"What's going on, are they okay?" Paul asked, pretending to be concerned about them all, but he was really only concerned about one of them.

"Dawn slipped a bit but she's fine. May had passed out down there so Ash was carrying her in his arms-" Brock stopped to look at Paul's face, it was a pure rage face. Then he did the unthinkable-

Paul let go of the rope and walked away. Brock was now holding everyone's weight up by himself. A task not possible. His feet started sliding towards the hole, he stood on the backs of them, trying to keep himself from letting go. But, three people... one person holding them up. It just didn't work. He began to let go from sheer force, but the weight got lighter. He panicked and looked to see who had fallen. No one had. Someone was pulling with me. A crowd of people were now watching, only one came to help. He was about the same strength as Paul, and soon they had almost pulled them up. With one more big pull, Dawn's arm grabbed the Earth and she pulled the rest of herself up, cutting her fingers in the progress. Ash appeared next, his face showed he was relieved but still worried, with his one hadn't he began to struggle out, and knelt by the hole using both hands to pull May out.

...

He was surprised no-one else in the crowd had tried to help. They probably just liked the drama. He watched the girl with blue hair pull herself out and cut her hands up, no-one cared. The boy with black hair and chocolate coloured eyes pulled himself out with one hand, but he wondered why he didn't use two. He must of done some serious damage to his hand too. He knelt by the hole, he had a hand in his two hands. Where was she? He struggled desperately to pull this person out. He saw her head appear. It was her. She scrabbled up to the surface and began crying. He wanted to go comfort her, but HE was already doing it. He scowled. They were hugging now and she was crying on his shoulder. The blue haired girl was hugging the older boy. He was smiling. The crowds had moved away from the scene. The black haired boy pulled away from her, but they were still holding hands, kneeling , facing each other. She smiled and said something to him, it sounded like thank you. She hadn't noticed him yet. They started to hug again and he walked away.

She had replaced him already.

...

May didn't really remember what happened when her and Ash were in the other world. She did remember meeting him and her thoughts on him at the time... and the dream. But she didn't remember passing out. She remembered waking up and just seeing Ash's face looking up, and Dawn hanging onto the rope with two hands. This had startled her and she didn't know what was going on. She attacked Ash. If she were him, she would have dropped her. But he didn't, even when she bit him. His arm was bleeding, she could taste it. Not nice. But he still held on and when she fell he used all his strength to hold her up. _He truly is something else._

When we surfaced, Ash pulled me up with both his hands and May hugged him without thinking. She said sorry, what else could she do? She was overly emotional from it all happening to her at once. Her journeys were usually peaceful and calm, no danger. She had never been put in a situation like that before. It was obvious that Ash had.

Five minutes after all the commotion stopped, everyone was gone, but reporters were determined. Brock pushed the camera away with his hand. May looked in her bag to check everything was there. All 6 Pokeballs were threw them all in the air and greeted them. Blaziken had other plans, it went up to Ash and... hugged him?

"You're welcome." Ash laughed and patted Blaziken, who was just a tiny bit bigger than him.

"Wow Blaziken, you don't normally like strangers that quick." May was still shocked at Blaziken's actions. It just shrugged and walked back to the other Pokemon.

"Ahhh! Where's Skitty?" She cried, and went lifting up things and searching around for her precious pink kitten.

"Mayyyh!" She heard Skitty's call and twirled around excitedly. Skitty was nowhere to be seen. May was confused, she looked over at Ash. He was grinning at his hat? It twitched a bit on his head.

May giggled and tackled him, he fell against the wall lightly and laughed. She took off his hat and looked inside. Skitty pounced onto her shoulder and rubbed her head against May's face. Yet again, one of my Pokemon being fond of Ash, maybe this was a sign. _Prince Charming _kept repeating in my head.

Ash wasn't laughing any more, he looked around me and walked past me a bit, narrowing his eyes.

"Ash, what's wrong?" She asked, concerned. She was still surprised that her pokemon were so friendly with him. Brock was more surprised that the two of them were good friends already, after only meeting each other the day before.

"I saw somebody watching us." He continued to look around as if they'd disappeared.

"It was probably just someone seeing what all the drama was about, don't worry about it." May reassured him.

"Yeah, no need to worry!" Dawn stepped into the conversation with her famous line.

"We should probably go grab something to eat then head back to the centre guys." Brock said to Ash and Dawn. Ash looked back at May and she nodded.

"So... See you around May." He said, and held out his hand for her to shake once more. She shook his hand, but there was more to it than meets the eye.

"Goodbye, Ash." I held the word 'Goodbye' for a while, because she never wanted the word to end. She never wanted him to leave, but he had to. May pulled her hand away from his and he turned around. He began walking towards the Pokemon Centre with Brock and Dawn. Once they had turned the corner, she opened her hand, uncurling her fingers to reveal a piece of paper. She put the paper in my pocket and began walking to the Pokemon Centre myself, but at a slower pace. It was such a lovely afternoon, the sky was orange pink and dark blue. Just like that night on the beach with Drew.

...

Once we had gotten something to eat, Brock and Dawn went back to their room, which consisted of one bunk bed and a single bed. I, of course, had the single bed. Ash had decided to take Pikachu out to do some training.

Brock soon fell asleep, and there was nothing on the T.V. So Dawn decided to go out and train with Ash, it was only just turning dark.

Ash was outside the centre, and was returning Pikachu.

"Hey Ash." She pulled a jacket she had bought at the mall over her shoulders.

"Uh, hey Dawn, I was just... leaving..." Ash said and began to speed walk in the opposite direction.

"Wait!" She took hold of his arm and stopped him. He looked back at me angrily. "Where are you going?" Dawn asked, she sounded a bit like a bossy mother.

" Out. I'll be back soon. " He pulled on his arm away.

"Why won't you tell me Ash?" She stepped towards him and looked up at him - as he was taller than her. Dawn shook her head. "This is not like you."

"It is me Dawn. Just let me go." He turned to walk again, now Dawn was mad too.

"Tell me!" She called. He turned around again.

"No!" He called back at me.

"Please tell me Ash." She frowned, hoping this act would work. It usually did.

"I don't fall for that any more Dawn." Ash hissed. His words upset her.

"This is all your fault. Ever since I met you you've caused nothing but trouble for me!" She screamed and threw up my arms before crossing them, walking in small circles. It was a random statement that upset Ash more than he had upset her.

"No Dawn, this is your fault, everything was okay until you were too weak to stop Dialga from possessing you!" He shouted at her. We still weren't far from each other. It was an unnecessary argument.

"..." She paused for a while, letting the words sink in. "I hate you!"She began to walk inside. She didn't mean that. They were both angry.

"I wish I never met you!" He started walking to wherever he was going but Dawn stopped in her tracks. His words cut like a knife. He didn't really mean it, did he?

"Please don't go Ash" Dawn called and fell onto her knees on the pavement. "I need you." But he already was out of earshot.


	6. Help From The Enemy

.: Chapter 6 :.

Brock woke up late that next morning, he guessed he was really tired from all the action the day before. Looking through the window, he could see that it was raining, unlike yesterday. Yesterday had been one of the hottest days of the year. _Strange... _Oh well. As the rain bounced off of the glass, he climbed down from the top of our bunk bed slowly and quietly, trying not to wake Ash.

Brock looked over at Dawn, it looked like she was crying through the night. He thought that getting an early start would be helpful, so he went to wake Ash. Only thing was, Ash wasn't there. His bed was made too. Ash never makes his bed.

"Good morning Brock." He twirled around to see Dawn rubbing her eyes and sitting up in her bed. She stopped and smiled at me, but he could tell she was faking it.

"Dawn, what happened last night?" He asked. He had heard Ash go out, and Dawn follow him later. But he must have been asleep when she came back.

"...N- Nothing." She stuttered.

"You can't fool me Dawn. Just tell me." Brock smiled and tried not to start an argument or be too harsh on her.

"Okay. I wanted to know where Ash was going, and we had an argument. I told him I hated him, but I don't." She wasn't smiling any more. She looked around a bit, it was awkward because Brock didn't know what to say. "Hey, where is Ash?" She panicked, probably noticing his empty bed.

"He never came back last night" He said quite calmly, her face look horrified. He knew it wasn't her fault.

"I'm so stupid. I'm a horrible friend." She buried her face in her hands and shook her head

"It wasn't your fault Dawn. He just gets... upset easily, you know?" Brock put his hand on her shoulder and smiled down at her, she smiled back.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I'm gonna go look for him " She stood up quickly and ran excitedly out of the door before Brock could say anything to her.

...

May yawned silently and climbed down from my bunk bed. She was wearing my red Hoenn outfit but for some reason, she wanted to wear her green and orange Johto outfit. She had it squashed up in her small yellow waist bag, so she entered the bathroom and started to change into it, taking a shower first.

She emerged from the bathroom maybe twenty minutes later. The room was quiet and still, just like she had gotten used to. Then a voice broke that silence.

"You look great in that May."

May jumped, shocked and almost dropped her bag. She scrabbled around and finally got a grip on it. She turned to her left to see Ash, laughing at her. My mouth made an 'o' shape and he stopped laughing.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"I came here with you last night, remember?" He picked up his bag.

"No... But why?" His face twisted in pain, she realised she'd gone into a sticky subject.

"Well... I sort of argued with Dawn and-" He began

"You didn't want to go back. I'm sorry for asking." May frowned because she had upset him.

"It's okay." He smiled. She was surprised because she had never met anyone so friendly, especially since she had only known him a couple of days. She liked this. May was expecting all cute boys to play hard to get, but Ash was just so nice. He started walking towards the door, he grabbed his hat from the seat by the door and opened it ready to leave.

"Going already?" She asked, hoping he was coming back. Last night they had met up at the park, and she had such a good time.

"Yeah, as much as I don't want to, I have to face Dawn sometime. I have to tell her I didn't mean the things I said" Yeah, he was going back to Brock and Dawn to travel with them again. _I was stupid to think he'd ditch his friends to travel with me._ _Of course, he just needed somewhere to stay. He doesn't care about me._ "In fact, I meant the opposite." He spoke again, then left without saying goodbye. The words kept repeating in her head; _In fact, I meant the opposite._

Did that mean... He loves her?

The feeling was strange, like jealousy. But why would she be jealous?

"I feel... so strange." She spoke to herself. She clenched my fist and placed it over her heart. It was beating faster than ever.

...

Dawn had no luck finding Ash, so she went back to the room, where Brock was still waiting for her.

"Oh, there you are. Ash came back before."

"What did he say?" Maybe he had left a message with Brock.

"Nothing really, but he was in a pretty good mood. He stayed with May last night."

"Oh really?" She scowled. Of course he stayed with May... they were awfully friendly considering they had just met.

"Yep. He's outside the centre right now with Pikachu " So Dawn left to go see him.

Ash was indeed outside. She sighed with relief to see he was still sticking around and he was happy too. He and Pikachu were just sitting at that moment, he was talking to it about something. You can always tell your pokemon anything. Dawn could of listened to see what he was saying, but that would of been rude. She walked over to the bench they were sitting on and sat beside him. Pikachu nodded at her and went back inside. She thanked Pikachu in my head for the privacy.

"Hey Dawn." He began awkwardly, like they'd never met.

"Oh Ash, I'm sorry." She didn't want it to be so awkward, and she just needed to tell him.

"No Dawn, it was my fault. I guess I was a bit harsh. I didn't mean it at all." He looked at her apologetically. They looked like this for a few seconds before he pulled her in for a hug. It was like the hug at the Pokemon centre, when she had been possessed by Dialga. Yet again, Dawn couldn't stop herself from blushing, people were looking and smiling. Creepy. Then, May came out. Dawn looked over Ash's shoulder at her. She looked over at us and frowned. She sneered over at her. She couldn't help it. It seemed like she was winning this little war. May didn't even know there was a little war going on. She didn't like Ash that way. She nodded at me formally and fastened her bag around her waist before walking away.

Then Ash pulled away. Dawn realised she was still blushing and looked away for a while. "Are you coming back to the room, we can find Brock and set off if you like." She looked back at him, knowing her blush was gone.

"Sure." They stood up and headed back to the Pokemon Centre.

...

The feeling was there again when May saw Ash and Dawn hugging like that. The fact that she sneered at her like that didn't help either. She wasn't really sure what was going on. Did she think May was trying to take Ash away? She certainly wasn't. But she didn't like the idea of Dawn and Ash being together. Why?

It didn't matter anyway, because now she was headed for the next Pokemon Contest. She would probably never see Ash again, he was probably headed for a different city. Maybe it was better that way. Maybe then she wouldn't feel this strange feeling. She was upset though. She had made a good new friend and she had to leave him already. They had said their goodbye's last night, so that was okay.

Two pieces of paper flew by, right past her face. She reached out and grabbed both of them. She pushed them together. They fit perfectly. She turned the pieces over, keeping them pressed together. May froze. The strange feeling was replaced by hurt. Yes, they could of kept in touch, but not now.

The piece of paper had her number on, the one she had given to Ash. He had ripped it up and threw it away. He probably thought she wouldn't find out. She had. _Well if he doesn't care, I won't. _But it was easier said than done.

"Why so sad?" May jumped as Paul appeared behind her. She dropped the pieces of paper and they floated away once again into the trees.

"You." She scowled and stepped back. She had seen what he had done on the news report.

"Believe me I don't want to see you much either. I'm glad you're okay." He smiled, but it looked more evil than friendly.

"No you're not. I saw that stunt you pulled. I bet you thought it was funny. Scum." May spat. It was a bit harsh, but after all he had let go of the rope, it could of killed her... and Ash.

Paul gave her the evil eye and stepped forward, grabbing her arm and pulling her forward towards him. There was no-one else on this road. May managed to let out a scream, loud and shrill but the scream was cut off. Paul pulled her in closer as she struggled to get away. Then he kissed her.

May hated to admit, but she had never kissed anyone but her Mom before that. It felt a lot different than kissing your mother though. Of course it did. At first she tried desperately to pull away, but he just held the kiss. She felt myself giving in. May closed her eyes and kissed back...

Paul wrapped his arm around her waist, startling me. She held the kiss too. It felt like hours had passed. Little did he know, she wasn't enjoying it, and it seemed like more of an experiment to her.

"Paul, what's going o-" May re-opened her eyes, something emerged from the bush, someone. But Paul was blocking my vision so she couldn't tell who.

May could hear giggling from the road too, and footsteps. Someone was getting closer. Now she could hear talking. She could tell who too, but it was too late. She tried to pull away quickly, but only managed to get one arm free from his grasp. The footsteps stopped and she could hear someone drop something. Someone else gasped. Paul pulled away first and she looked over to the road. Her predictions were correct. It had to be Ash, Brock and Dawn. _God hates me._

Brock was the one who had dropped something, his phone. Dawns mouth was hanging open. Whoever had been in the bushes was gone now.

"Oh, hi." Paul flicked his hair, his arm was still around May. Ash had a horrified look on his face, a look of sadness and horror.

"Ash I-" But she couldn't think of what to say, Instead, she decided to show them all how she was feeling.

First, she pulled away from Paul and turned to look him in the face. Next, she brought my hand back and slapped him in the face. He rubbed his cheek.

"What the hell was that for?" He started angrily.

"Next time ask." May shouted and smiled proudly. Paul growled and walked into the forest, so casually.

"Wow." Brock broke the silence after a while. Her first kiss, she wanted it to be with someone special. Someone she actually loved. No. She did not love Paul, not one bit. But she could get used to the kissing part... May decided not to count it as her first official kiss. Who knew it would be so awkward?

"So May, you found a boyfriend already?" Everyone, including May, turned to see who was speaking now. A boy stood by the bushes, on higher ground than we were now. His green hair blew lightly in the wind, making him look mildly attractive. But that was not what she was focusing on. It was Drew.

Drew must have seen the kiss.

"Drew!" May shouted happily and jumped up to hug him, but he stepped back. She was puzzled by his action. She would of thought he'd be happy to see her. It didn't seem that way right now. She was about to speak, but Drew pulled a rose from his jacket, and tossed it through the air. This time it wasn't aimed for May, it was aimed for Dawn. Dawn caught the rose in both hands and looked up, almost as confused as her.

"Nice to see you again May. Nice to meet you too." He jumped down and shook Dawn's hand. She looked quite shocked by the sudden appearance of a new face, dying to meet her. Drew then turned to Brock and introduced himself. Next, he looked at Ash.

"And you are?" He asked in a nasty tone.

"I could ask the same of you." Ash raised one eyebrow, feeling the least bit threatened by Drew's remark. Drew directed his attention to Ash's Pikachu.

"Ha, nice Pikachu, it looks weak." And he began laughing at it.

"Oh yeah " Ash smirked at Drew, who stopped laughing and looked back at him. Dawn and Brock stepped back a bit, sensing the tension.

"Yeah!" Drew stepped closer to Ash and pushed him back, making Ash fall to the floor. He had caught him off guard. May gasped and jumped back down. Drew walked towards Ash, ready to hit him again.

This boy was the one who was hugging May.

His May.

He had carried her in his arms as they were pulled out of the hole, and he had hugged her once they were safe. Yes, he and May were very close. Drew just thought he'd let him know who was in charge around here, but of course, due to his anger issues, he went a little far.

Drew went to hit him again, he was still recovering from being pushed over. He was so vulnerable.

"Don't you dare!" May stepped in front of him with her arms held out either side of her. Drew couldn't hit her, hecouldn't do it.

"You're on his side now?" She was closer to him than expected. This could be a problem.

"Maybe I am." She growled at him and he stepped back. Once he was far enough back for her to be content, she bent down next to him and helped him up. He was fine. He knew they were going to hug again, but they didn't. I could even hear the bluenette behind me grind her teeth angrily.

"'Kay then, how about a battle?" Drew started, and he just shrugged. "And... I want to battle your Pikachu." It looked so weak, this was bound to be easy. The boy shrugged,

"I was going to use Pikachu anyway, to make this quick and easy." He taunted.

Drew decided to use Roserade, because it was his strongest.

Once called, Roserade appeared from its Pokéball. It bowed and opened it's eyes, observing the scene before it.

...

The battle was about to begin, Dawn was anxious to see who would win. Of course she wanted her Ash to win.

But she never got to see who won.

"Magikarp!" She heard the Pokémon call. They looked over towards the river to see a Magikarp, frantically swimming up stream. This Magikarp was alone and useless, but this Magikarp changed everyone's day.

"Magikarps don't swim up stream... Do they?" May turned to Brock, but he just shrugged. The Magikarp jumped from the water and landed infront of Ash, who just stood there, looking down at it.

"Magikarp!" Dawn heard the call again, but this time louder, and it was a group calling this time.

"What the...?" Brock began-

_Splash!_

The water from the lake shot up into the air and sprayed down onto us as more than a hundred Magikarp jumped to the same spot as the last one had. They helped it up and together, they went back into the river and began swimming up stream again, as fast as they could.

The tree's rustled, a high pitched squawk could be heard.

"Now what?" May shouted above the noise. It soon became so loud, they had to cover their ears. Then, a bunch of Starly and Staravia flew from the trees, flapping their wings at extreme speed, making a huge gust of wind. Dawn closed her eyes and kept her hands covering her ears. She struggled to keep her feet on the ground as they flew past us, hundreds and hundreds. Over the noise she could hear something very faintly, a scream, but not of pain.

"Pikachu!" It was Ash, screaming.

She tried desperately to open my eyes, but the force was too much. "Help!" May screamed, and Dawn could hear a banging noise, like someone hitting the floor.

Then everything stopped, and it had gone darker than before, she could tell without opening my eyes.

Once she did, a new scene could be seen. Ash was holding onto May's arm in the strong wind that was now dying down, and helped her down as it quietened. The green haired boy was crouching on the floor, still covering his ears. Brock had slid a few feet behind the the others in the wind, and was still trying to get his balance. Then, they all looked up to see what was causing the shadow, but it seemed someone beat her to it.

"Dialga!?" Ash shouted and pointed to where she was about to look. Ash's anger took control of him, and he shouted once more at it; "Why did you take advantage of Dawn like that? Tell me what you were trying to say!" Dialga made a noise like a bird, but a lot louder.

Then Dawn blanked out.

May didn't really know what was going on, but she was sure she was going to find out.

Dawn was now surrounded with a kind of red barrier, and she was hovering in mid air, with her arms and legs sprawled out, her hands around her neck like she was choking. Nobody around me moved, like they had seen this before. Drew looked a bit more surprised than Brock did, but Ash just looked worried. Then Dawn floated down to Earth once again, her eyes were glowing a pinkish-red. She was still surrounded in red too.

"Ash." She said in a low hiss, it definitely wasn't her voice. Dialga was hovering in the sky, staring down at Dawn with a scary glare. "I mean her no harm." May looked over at Ash, he was looking a lot calmer.

"What were you trying to tell me a couple of days ago Dialga?" So Dialga was controlling Dawn! That would explain why it was glaring at her like that. Dialga shook it's head violently at Ash, and he seemed to understand what the pokemon meant. May, on the other hand, had no idea what this pokemon was, or why it was here.

Instead of answering Ash's question, Dialga decided to control Ash instead. Dawn's red aura disappeared, and she looked at herself to check if she was okay. She was. The red aura surrounded Ash instead, and he knew what was going on but he didn't look worried. I was worried for him. Even though she had told herself she wasn't going to care.

Ash was now controlled by Dialga, and she knew Ash was strong because of the things he had done over the past few days. May shivered at the thought, even though she knew Dialga could just attack them with it's own power if it wanted to harm them.

Ash placed his hands on his head and closed his eyes, as if extracting information from his head. Then he began screaming. May wanted to run over to him, but Drew grabbed her shoulder and shook his head. Her face turned sour and she pulled her shoulder away harshly, but stayed next to him. Ash crumpled to the floor and fainted. This time, Drew didn't try and stop her. She ran over to him and tried to pick him up, but he was too heavy, she was too weak. Dialga shifted a bit on the sky.

"Interesting, the others will not be pleased. Best not to tell them." Dawn spoke again, and they all jumped from surprise, Dialga didn't even need to try to control her this time.

"Not pleased about what?" May asked, still half holding Ash, who was completely out.

"I read your friends mind, you see." Dialga spoke through Dawn again.

"What is going on, Dialga? " Brock shouted.

"The legend... read it... Celestic Town. Your friend, he is falling in love. It's all gone wrong." Dawn said, confusing May even more. Dialga finished talking to us, and began to fly away. Brock picked Ash up for me, as he was bigger and stronger.

"Nearest Pokémon Centre?" Brock looked at Dawn, who pulled out a map and began frantically searching across it.

"...Not for a while Brock..." Dawn gulped and looked at Ash.

"How far?" He demanded, making Brock and May worried. The situation was worse than May thought, but she knew Dialga didn't mean to hurt him.

"It will take about three days to get there..." Dawn hesitated. "Is it that bad?"

"I'm a Pokémon healer, not a human one. I wouldn't know." Brock placed his hand on Ash's head. " He's too warm, please, make some ice." We sat on the grass and Brock lay Ash down on the ground. May wished she could do something to help. Even Drew was helping.

Drew had the bucket of water all ready. "Buneary, spotlight!" Dawn spun and threw one of her Pokeballs. Buneary popped out and cringed at the look of Ash. " Buneary, use ice beam on that water! " Buneary followed it's command and froze the water. It was quite a cute Buneary. Dawn was about to send out another Pokemon to break the ice, but May took over. She had her Pokeball ready in her hand to throw.

"Blaziken, let's go!" Dawn stopped mid-throw as Blaziken appeared. Dawn looked up at it, and put her Pokeball back. "Break that ice!" Blaziken smashed the ice into cubes, which Brock then put in a bag, and gave it to her. She held the bag over his head while Dawn and Drew went to look for berries. May must have held the bag on his head for at least half an hour, never moving my hand. Brock was making some sort of stew. She was trying to make sense of everything Dialga had said, about 'the others' and them not being pleased... and about the legend. This, I would have to read. The thing I wondered about most was the fact that Dialga had said Ash was falling in love... Who with? _Dawn, most likely. _May wasn't completely bothered.

"Brock, I found the berries." Dawn said and placed down a bag of different berries, which she started mashing up. It was time for May to remove the ice, so she lifted it up.

Uh oh.

The bag stuck to her hand like super glue. She shook her hand around a bit, but it didn't loosen. She pulled at it, but no luck. Dawn was rolling on the floor laughing at me and Drew couldn't stop himself from giggling either. Eventually she became sick and violently shook my hand all over. Suddenly, the bag flew from my hand, they watched it fly over the path, just miss Brock's head and fly into the bushes.

"OW!" It was a girls voice... from the bushes? Ash shot up from lying down and May jumped back in surprise, making me fall over, and making Dawn laugh even harder.

"Ash?" May asked. Ash took one look at Dawn, then looked at the bushes. He watched them for a little while, and May could feel some ones eyes on her, watching her. Ash stood up and began walking towards the bushes, but she took hold of his arm. "Where are you going? You're still recovering!" He looked back at her, but didn't say anything. It was an awkward moment. Then he looked down at her hand, which was holding his arm.

"Recovering?" He said, and looked back up at my face. May let go and stepped back as if she were scared of him. "Who are you?" He asked. Her face twisted and my eyes widened as I realised. Brock was looking now too. Ash looked around at us all. "Dawn." He said. _What is going on? _Brock stood up and walked over to us.

"Ash, you need to rest, come on buddy." Ash stepped back.

"Do I know you?" He asked, but towards Brock this time. Brock seemed taken aback. May didn't know how long Ash had known Brock, but she could tell it was a long time.

"You don't remember any of us?" Brock asked.

"Why? Should I?" He asked him then turned to Dawn. "Who are they Dawn?" Dawn looked lost for words.

"Well, nice to meet you anyway." Ash smiled at us. May couldn't believe it. This was annoying.

"Listen, Is that a voice I hear? Someone screamed. _Who now? _The voice was familiar.

"It speaks to me loud and clear!" Another familiar voice.

"What a weird bunch of people." Ash gave them a strange look. May looked where he was looking. It was a giant Meowth balloon in the sky, and in it? Jessie and 'purple haired guy' from the boat!

"Weird bunch of people? What is wrong with the twerp?" The man asked Jessie.

"Yes... You see us everyday, and we do this everyday." Jessie laughed and covered her mouth.

"No? I've never even seen you before." Ash scratched his head and smiled sheepishly.

Jessie and James nodded at each other and landed there balloon. They hopped out and Jessie circled Ash, inspecting him, he watched her do this. "You're not kidding are you?" James squealed.

"We think... Ash has lost his memory..." Brock mumbled, just loud enough for them to hear.

"I haven't lost anything, I remember everything. I was travelling through Sinnoh with Dawn."

"And the big twerp." Jessie pointed to Brock, but Ash shook his head.

"Dialga did this... we have to go read the legend!" Brock gasped suddenly. It seemed crazy, but that would explain Ash being controlled, and grabbing his head. He would have been in pain too, if his memories were being extracted...

"We'll give you a ride!" Jessie winked, leaving James and Meowth confused and staring at her in shock.

"We will?" James asked. Jessie whispered something to him, and he smiled, almost sinisterly. "Hop in." He said innocently, but May didn't trust them. But what choice did they have? She didn't want Ash to lose his memory, and neither did anyone else. So they ended up giving in.

" Wait, not all of you can fit in! " Jessie shouted. Oh great.

"I think Ash, Dawn and I should go." Brock said to May. She wanted to go but she wasn't going to argue with him, not at a time like this. Now she was stuck with Drew again.


	7. Blood Trail

.: Chapter 7 :.

It was strange that Team Rocket was helping them. Very strange. But right now that wasn't bothering Dawn right now, as they all stood silently in the slow moving balloon, silent screaming in her head.

Dialga had made Ash forget everyone but her, but why? Brock's idea was the only way they could find out, and anyway, why would there be a legend about Ash? Was he someone special? Dawn could see him look at Brock, Jessie and James, trying to remember. She hoped he did. Although she liked the idea of just her and Ash travelling together...

Her thoughts drifted to May, for some reason. She acted like she was going to travel with us now. This bothered her because she knew what she was after. Well, she thought she knew. Of course, Dialga said Ash was falling in love with someone. _Obviously me._ May was just annoying to Dawn, and it seemed she was already all over Paul. That kiss was no fake.

She stared out to the sky, it was no longer raining, but the clouds were grey. Dawn shivered, freezing cold breezes were blowing by them. They were cold on her arms and legs. _Curse this dress._

"Jessie. Is our balloon electric proof?" James squealed with fear. Brock looked around, in the distance they could see lightning shooting downwards from the sky, and they could now hear the thunder roaring. It began to rain again, making the flame on the balloon flicker, but it didn't die yet.

"What do you think dummy? Why? Pikachu isn't..." Jessie stopped but didn't close her mouth, Dawn followed her gaze. Why was she looking at Ash?

Then it clicked.

Pikachu wasn't on Ash's shoulder. Brock thought back to when we were talking to Dialga, when Ash had screamed Pikachu's name, he couldn't remember seeing it after that.

"Where is Pikachu?" Jessie looked around the balloon, no sign. She bent down and looked on the floor. She looked up while bending, Ash was looking at her like she was mental. "Aren't you worrying about it?" She asked him, he looked at her like she was even weirder now.

"Worrying about what? " He asked back. No, Dialga couldn't be that cruel, could it? To make Ash forget about his lifelong partner? It was just wrong, after all, what damage could Pikachu do to this stupid legend? It's not like Pikachu would ruin Ash's life. But then again, Brock wouldn't either, and Ash had known Brock for just as long. Jessie fell back anime-style. She got back up again and licked her finger, sticking it up in the air. "James, our plan is ruined, we may as well just go to Celestic Town."

" were planning on stealing Pikachu!" Brock shouted at the two, but Jessie hushed him.

"Planning. We can't now. Forgive us our sins." She and James giggled. Everyone had forgot about the weather.

"JESSIE! " James called happily."There is Celestic Town!" He was right, the small town was just a mile away, and they could see it well from here. No one was outside, in this weather. If only we could of made it...

"James, we need a fire type, the flame is dying." _If only Blaziken were here. No, I shouldn't think that._ Then Dawn remembered, but she wasn't sure if Ash did. She grabbed a pokeball from Ash's belt, startling him.

"Come on out, Monferno!" She threw the ball and Monferno came out, making the balloon shake a little. Even Monferno was surprised that the gang were in Team Rocket's balloon. "Please, use flamethrower on the balloon's flame." She asked it, and it did as it was asked. Dawn returned Monferno, they were getting closer to Celestic Town.

"That's all goody goody, but what about that?" Jessie pointed to the lightning. A bolt struck just centimetres away from the balloon, they all screamed and covered themselves, the balloon was starting to sway randomly in the wind. "James, do something!" Jessie shouted, but what could James do? They were all pretty helpless right then.

_Crash!_

No one needed to look up to know what had happened. Of course, the balloon had burst and they could do nothing. For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then we were falling, quite suddenly. Dawn had thought nothing of it when Team Rocket did it, they looked fine, but this time, lightning was crashing down just metres away from them, just threatening to take our life. It was more dangerous than saving Ash and May from the other world, far more. Or that's how it felt anyway. She felt something take her hand and managed to check who it was through her watering eyes. It was Ash, of course. She didn't pull my hand away as we fell. It felt like forever. Then all she could feel was pain, and she could see nothing.

...

The very awkward silence was bugging May and she pleaded in my head for some peace, but it didn't look like she was going to get any. Drew walked next to her at a steady pace. He said nothing. We had been walking for only twenty minutes, but she wanted to be far away from him already. It brought back too many memories. This was strange because just two days earlier she was wishing him back. May didn't need him now she'd found other friends, if you could call Dawn her friend. _I don't think she likes me very much. I wonder why?_

"Did you hear that?" Drew broke the silence and stopped walking. May walked a few paces infront of him and stopped herself. She looked back at him, he was looking in the bushes for something. They rustled behind her, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. May turned slowly to look at the bushes behind her, there was nothing there. Drew was still behind me, she could hear him turning to look.

"BOO!" Something jumped out of the bush and screamed towards May. Fear took over her and she fell to the floor screaming like a baby. She covered her head with her arms, as if it would protect her. "You're not Ash." It was the same voice, but not shouting. May looked up from her position. Standing before her, was another girl. The girl was wearing denims shorts, and they were very short... She wore a yellow tank top, that showed her stomach off. It also showed off her good figure. Red straps ran from her shorts and over her shoulders and she had a blue bag hung over her shoulder. Her hair was very ginger, and tied into a side ponytail, her fringe hung just above her emerald eyes as she looked down at me. She also wore red sneakers, which looked a bit worn out, but in good condition.

"You are?" Drew asked out of the blue. The girl looked away from May and at him, her expression seemed cheery.

"Oh, my name's Misty, nice to meet you." They shook hands as May stood up and brushed herself off, embarrassed.

"Are you a Co-ordinator?" Trust Drew to ask that straight away.

"No, I'm a Kanto region gym leader." Drew seemed a bit shocked, May wasn't really. Nothing could shock her after what had happened today.

"So... Why are you in Sinnoh?"

"I have some time off so I thought I'd come visit a very good old friend of mine." She answered.

"An old friend named Ash Ketchum?" May joined in their conversation.

"Do you know him?" She turned to her and asked. Drew made a funny noise with his mouth and looked away, _I get the impression that he doesn't like Ash very much. Why?_

"Yeah, but he's not so good right now." She smiled sheepishly.

"Why? What's wrong with him!?" She was no longer the cheery person, but more of a worried person.

"If you want, you can come to Celestic Town with us, and I'll tell you all about it." She nodded and looked at Drew for approval. He just shrugged. May decided not to tell her about Ash being in Celestic Town, in fear of her running off leaving me stuck with Drew again.

...

The rain trickled down her face, but she did not feel it. Dawn was still out cold, but she could see. She could see see the clearing around her spinning in a clear circle, around and around. She stood still, staring straight ahead, the lightning struck a nearby tree as she stood like a Zombie watching Ash sleep. Slowly, her expression went from hard to a soft tearful smile. She lowered her head, as if not wanting anyone to see her cry. There wasn't anybody with her anyway. The big problem was, Dawn was crying out desperately to herself about almost nothing. Of course, her head was throbbing, she was cold and soaking, but that wasn't the reason. The reason was that some unknown legend was making their lives hell. All she wanted was to enjoy her travels with Ash. Right now she just wanted to get away. Sure, they'd done the unexpected before, nearly died. This time was different, however, because she had grown up, her feelings had changed.

The other problem was that they were in the middle of nowhere, Dawn couldn't find a way out, she had looked. She had no way of calling anybody, because her phone was out of battery and all she had was my Camera now, and my Pokemon.

_Ring Ring!_

Wait, was she dreaming? Was this a phone call? Ash's phone rang in his pocket and her face lit up as she ran over and grabbed the phone, quickly pressing the answer button.

"Hey, Ash?" May's face appeared on the screen. _Oh Great, just who I wanted to chat to._

"No May, as you can see, this is Dawn." May didn't answer, but instead gave her a horrified look. Dawn realised that she was soaked and her head was slightly bleeding onto my face, and her dress was blood stained, though not with her blood...

"What happened? Was it Team Rocket?" She heard a distant scream of 'TEAM ROCKET?' but couldn't make out who it was.

"The lightning that is around hit the balloon, Ash and Brock are still not awake and we were lucky to survive, but we did. Ash should be okay. I can't find Team Rocket." Dawn said plainly, trying to sound like she not care for her concern, but really, it was nice to have someone that cares, or did she only care about Ash?

"Is he okay?" Yes, she was right after all. She did only care about Ash. The wind blew high around Dawn, making her dress and hair sway like mad. It was still raining, and the phone was starting to get wet, and she thought she was going to freeze in this mini dress. _Better get off the phone._

"Listen May, as much as I REALLY want to chat with you, I have to go "

"Hmph. Fine, we're on our way, you better not leave Celestic Town." She gave her a stern eye before hanging up. She tucked Ash's phone in her bag for the moment. The rain picked up a bit, and the wind blew at an extreme speed, nearly blowing her over. She needed to get out of the wind and rain, and so did Ash and Brock. She knew Brock had a tent somewhere in his huge backpack.

* * *

><p>Dawn found the tent, after searching through Brock's bag which mostly contained medicines. Also in the bag, she found Brock's I Pod, which he rarely used. She remembered when he used to sing along while they were walking, the good old times. She also discovered a bottle of wine in his bag. Only heaven knows why it was in there, but it wasn't his. She had opened it for some reason, but the rain was getting inside the bottle, so she shut it almost immediately after she opened it. Dawn briskly began setting up the small tent but it wasn't looking so good. The high wind kept blowing it here there and everywhere as she tried desperately to keep it in place.<p>

A strong gust blew past her and the tent flew up into the air, violently flapping. She tried to grab it as it flew away, but it was no use. She followed the tent as it flew over the trees, and as she did - something glowed yellow inside a nearby cave.

...

Misty and Drew weren't getting along as well as they first were. After all, nobody could really put up with Drew's whining apart from May. She was used to it by now but at the start of my journey it really annoyed her. It was just five minutes since she had finished the phone call with Dawn, and Drew's whining had stopped, replaced by him thinking, for once.

"What's with you?" She questioned, curious by his behaviour. Misty made no effort to look or listen.

"Am I not allowed to think? Anyway, what is that girls name, the one you were on the phone to?" Answering a question with a question never satisfied May.

"Dawn, why?" She raised an eyebrow.

"I was just wondering, she's kind of pretty. Maybe I like her." He smirked. His words hit May like a Mach punch to the stomach. What did he say? What about...

"I'm sorry... What did you just say?" Now Misty was looking as May spoke to Drew angrily. She looked like she wanted some popcorn for the show.

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that." He smiled sheepishly and tried to hug her, but she pushed him back.

"I thought what you said at the beach was legit. I was stupid. I've been waiting for you to confirm it. I thought I saw you with Solidad. I was right." She snapped, they stopped walking as May's back arched forward.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Beads of sweat dropped from his head as his secret was revealed.

"Didn't you feel anything, when we... kissed?" She spat out the last word like it was poison.

"Are you telling me you did?" He looked surprised, he shouldn't of been.

"Of course I did, I liked you a little bit back then. Solidad ruined it, so did every other girl you've done the same thing to!" She screamed. Here she was again, getting over emotional. She shouldn't of made all that fuss, but she couldn't hold it in.

"You loved me?"

"Not exactly, but what really matters is, you tell girls the same thing. You use them, you tried to use me." Misty stepped back as the brunette exploded.

"May, please listen to me, you're over reacting." He held out his hand for May to take. Like she would.

"Maybe I am. Who cares? Misty, let's go." Misty took one look at Drew again, May couldn't read her emotions. She followed her down the road as Drew stood watching them leave. They heard him begin running after them, so May began running too.

...

No tent, no map. Dawn wasn't in the best position back then.

It was half an hour since the tent had blown away and she was rocking back and forward on the wet grass. Tears stained her eyes and dress, though it was already wet. If somebody else were in this position they would try and solve it. She wasn't, she was too weak and she could hardly move her legs after the crash. The pain was surging from her head and continued down her whole body. She was freezing. How long would this storm keep up? Then She remembered something. She grabbed the bottle of wine beside Brock's bag.

Dawn was sipping the bottle like there was no tommorow. Maybe there was no tommorow. The first few drinks tasted bitter and sour, but then slowly... She got used to the taste and began sipping it more vigorously. Soon the pain began to wear off and the drink made her feel warm and cushy inside. The bottle had been full, now it was empty. There was another in the bag, and she started on that one too. It wasn't long before she didn't know what she was doing any more.

...

They were far away from Drew now. Misty bent over beside May, panting. Why she ran, she didn't know. She wasn't scared of him, she just didn't want to see him.

"Remind...me why ...we were ..running?" She said in between breaths. May decided not to answer. Once they caught their breath, they were ready to set off towards Celestic Town once more. What Drew did or how he found his way out was up to him, and May didn't care. He would probably look for them. He wouldn't find them.

Or at least May hoped not.

So, time to head off to Celestic. Just one problem, which way is it?

"Oh man..." Misty sighed and lowered her head.

"I think it might be..." May looked around and took a random guess. She pointed at the nearest path, heading into the forest, "This way!" She grabbed her arm and they jogged on into the forest to find Ash, Brock and Dawn.

An hour on, no luck. If only they had a map to lead the way. May never did think of these things before rushing off on her journey. Her bad. Misty's bad too, because she herself had only her Pokemon and a packed lunch.

"I see something, over here!" She called back to May, waving her arm in the air. May ran over to her to see what it was. The rain was just clearing up, but this patch was just about dry. It was protected from the rain by the trees. She still didn't see what Misty wanted her to.

"What do you want me to see?"

"Look there..." She whispered, and pointed to the grass a little further ahead.

May almost fainted from shock when she saw it. There was a long, thick trail of dried blood, starting at a tree trunk and leading into the trees. The grass beside it looked like someone had been dragged along. Footsteps could also be seen, but these were a little further to the left, and more visible, as if they were fresh. There were at least four different peoples footprint there...

"Do you think we should follow them...?" This made May think.

"It's worth a shot." She shrugged finally. The blood being there, it still had her in a daze. Wait...

Suddenly she gasped out.

"May? What's wrong?" Misty jumped back.

"This place, this is where Dawn rang from!" May looked at her. She looked at me. They didn't need to say anything, they knew what the other was thinking. Run. So they did, they ran alongside the trail, and once the blood stopped, they followed the footsteps. They didn't stop.

...

"Wha...?" Dawn managed to mumble out as her eyes adjusted to the light. Gosh, why was it so bright? She couldn't remember anything from the night before, and where was she?

"Dawn?" Ash's voice. She still couldn't see properly, but she knew he was right beside her bed. In fact, he had his hand on hers. Strange, it didn't make her feel anything this time.

"Ash." She could see now. "What happened?" She sat up, her whole body was painful. She let out a yelp as pain surged through her legs and up to her arms.

"Take it easy, Dawn!" Ash warned her. "Well you see, it's kind of a long story." She nodded, pushing him to carry on. "It was still raining when we woke up, but not as bad. Brock and I found you..." He trailed off and looked away, but Dawn squeezed his hand gently and he looked right back at her and continued. "We know what you did, and that's okay. Just please, don't do it again. You really scared me."

"I'm sorry. I was in too much pain..." She almost cried.

"Anyway, Brock had his bag to carry, and he was in really bad shape. I guess we wouldn't have gotten out if it wasn't for Paul." Ash smiled and turned to the door. Paul was standing watching them, leaning against the door frame, he smiled back. Just slightly, but it was a smile.

"Paul?" Dawn did sit up now. The pain wasn't as bad as last time, but it made her wince. Paul just turned away and walked back into the corridor. "How did I get back here then? " She said 'back here' because she had no idea where they were. Outside, it was sunny.

"Paul helped Brock back and I carried you." This time she did feel something. _Brush it off Dawn, don't let it bother you._

"And the legend?"

"Paul and Brock are just heading off to look at it now, I thought I should stay here." So that was where Paul was going. When did Paul turn into Mr. Nice Guy?

"You should of left, I'm fine. " She smiled. "Wait, you... REMEMBER?" Dawn's face lit up and she could tell. When they had crashed, Ash's memory was gone. Now it was back. The only negative to it was that Ash remembered May. That wasn't bothering her so much right now.

"I do. Man, losing your memory feels strange. I have to make sure Dialga doesn't do that again."

"Why did you only remember me?" She asked. "Am I... Someone special?" She blushed and looked away, waiting for the answer she wanted to hear.

"I dunno." He shrugged. _Maybe next time Dawn._

"Oh, okay."

Ash and Dawn had dinner together down at a nearby Cafe after Nurse Joy gave Dawn permission to leave. She waited for him to say it, nothing. Dawn had no serious injuries. It was the best thing she'd heard all day. When they were in the Cafe, some guy was laughing at her for no reason. He and Ash ended up arguing and having a pokemon battle. Ash beat all five of his Pokemon with just Pikachu, which Paul had also found. It made her happy to see him win so easily.

Now it was around six pm, and Brock and Paul had returned quite late after getting caught up in an investigation Officer Jenny was doing. Dawn was sitting on a bench with Piplup and Ash was talking with Brock and Paul at the other side of our room. This was the first time Paul was sharing with them. She could only make out certain sentences when they spoke louder.

"And a boy with his Pikachu..." Brock.

Pause.

"Like a bride chosen for him instead of chosen by him." Paul.

Pause.

"I don't understand it myself yet, why would it want you?" Paul.

Loud muttering.

"That can't be talking about me!" Ash shouted. Her head snapped up to look at them. She finally took interest.

"It is, and you're in big trouble."


	8. Championess

This chapter is a bit smaller, I wanted a quick update.

**I explained what Pikachu did while it was separated from Ash briefly. If the legend is complicating you, please say.**

* * *

><p>.: Chapter 8 :.<p>

Sitting next to Paul was one of the most awkward things ever. The three of them wouldn't tell Dawn what was going on. She had heard them say Ash was in danger, so of course she wanted to know.

She decided making conversation would be hard but beneficial, because maybe he would tell her.

"So Paul, how did you find us in the forest?"

"Uh.. I was observing Pikachu, because I thought it was Ash's. It was lying on the floor but it was breathing." He paused, "But it got up and started staggering around. I followed it further into the trees, and it was letting off electricity. I had heard what you guys were planning on doing, so I knew Pikachu was either injured by Team Rocket, or had been struck by lightning." Dawn nodded, to be polite. "Then I took it and started running to the Pokemon Centre. That's when I saw Ash carrying you, and trying to figure to help Brock at the same time." She mouthed 'Ahh, I see.' He was speaking so calmly. "Happy now?" He snapped at her. She moved back slightly.

"Yeah, I guess." Dawn was about to ask him about the legend when he moved away -

"Good, I have no more time to waste." He scowled and walked to their room. How rude, she was only asking to be polite.

Ash was out with Brock. Brock was showing him the legend and they were going to figure it out. This left her alone, so she decided to go to her room, where Paul would be. She needed a break from the drama, a nap would be nice.

So she entered their room, Paul was sitting on his bed, probably thinking. His eyes followed her as she entered and sat down on her bed, exactly opposite his. It was nice to have him in their room at first, but now...

"You know, you don't have to be so rude." She said plainly as she fiddled around in her bag, looking for Piplup's Pokéball. She had no choice but to put Piplup in it's Pokeball when the storm hit.

"..." Paul looked like he wanted to say something. She found Piplups pokeball, but something told her not to let him out just yet.

"Can I ask you something " He answered with a nod. "I'm worried, and I would really like to know; what is the legend?"

"It's totally irrelevant and I don't understand why such a silly thing is written. Dialga obviously has the wrong person."

"Please, just tell me Paul. Why can't you?" Dawn pleaded.

"Ash doesn't want you to get the wrong idea."

"What is that supposed to mean, hmm?" Paul was just confusing her more and more.

"You'd have to know the legend to understand "

"But I don't and I need to! So just tell me!" She shouted and flung her arms in the air.

"Okay." He grinned.

"Really?" She beamed.

"No."

She stormed up to the top of the bunk bed Ash and her were sharing and flopped down on it in a huff. She stared at Piplups pokeball for a few minutes, her face twisted and hard. Paul stood up and walked a few metres away from her bed, still grinning in a 'kind of' playful way.

"Come down, Dawn." He remembered her name for once!

"Why?" She was shocked and a bit worried.

"Please, trust me." He held out his hand. She took it, reluctantly, and jumped down.

"What's going on?" She asked shakily. Paul's attitude had changed completely.

Paul shocked her even more. He slithered his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him, so that she could feel his breath on her face. He looked into her eyes, and probably saw the fear. She opened my mouth to scream, but he placed a finger to her lips. She was blushing by then. Why was he doing this when he loathed her so badly? There had to be a reason. Was this what he did to May?

"What are you doing?" Sheblurted out before he could stop me.

"Isn't it obvious Dawn?" What the heck was this?

"Wha-" Paul cut her off;

"Dawn... I love you." He looked away. She felt like fainting. She was going to. What he did next stopped her from. He bent down slightly, pulled her up slightly, and let his lips touch mine, ever so softly. Once he got the feel, he kissed her more passionately. Dawn forgot what she was doing too, just like when she got drunk. She found myself kissing him back. She lifted her arm and ran her hand through his hair. He pulled her even closer so that their hips were touching. Why was she enjoying this so much? She felt like nothing could touch her now. Her eyes were closed, her heart was in her mouth.

They stopped for just a second, for her to do some thinking. She wasn't sure whether she loved him or not, things were going so fast. The kissing began again, Paul's hands exploring. Never once did she think of anything else, it felt so strange. It felt like nothing could ruin this moment,

But something did.

She heard the door open, she knew it had, but they continued kissing passionately. If she had known who it was, she would have stopped immediately. When they did stop, she was silenced. It was Ash and Brock back, and they were standing at the door. Ash looked slightly upset. Brock looked shocked. She never knew this would be so embarrassing.

"Right... Well, um, I'm going to go stock up on supplies. Later. Brock sweat dropped and side stepped out of the room slowly. Dawn looked at Ash, he gave me the most confused look. And another emotion she couldn't read. An emotion so strong, like I'd never seen before.

"I guess I'll go with Brock... and leave you two." He said awkwardly and turned to follow Brock, she ran.

"Ash, wait!" But he was already gone. Paul looked angry, though she didn't know why. She felt so bad, because now she didn't know who she liked, and she thought of that as wrong. She didn't know they were going to walk in, but really, she shouldn't of been kissing Paul at all. She climbed up her bunk bed and covered herself with the sheets, scrunching them with her hands.

...

_How strange of Dawn to do that. Kiss Paul, I mean. Dawn had always hated Paul for the way he treated Ash. Maybe she likes him now because he's helping instead of hurting._

There was an awful lot of kissing and hurting going on lately. It was because his friends were growing up.

Ash walked next to Brock, but they didn't speak. Ash wasn't upset, as such. Brock would of expected him to be. He knew he liked Dawn, it's obvious.

"Where are we going?" Ash looked up at him.

"I got a message, trust me." He didn't want Ash to know about the special guest coming to visit him. It would be a nice surprise. Maybe old feelings would come back. He wished he was lucky enough to meet female companions.

"There's no one here Brock." It was dark outside, but the street lights allowed them to see up dark alleys and along dead paths.

"Give them time." But we didn't really have to, because Brock heard the footsteps of them. They were running. Ash squinted to see who it was. Brock waved his arm and expected a wave back. As they appeared, he saw their expressions.

"May!" Ash waved happily. This was a nice surprise. After seeing Dawn kiss Paul, Brock didn't think he'd be so happy. He didn't see the girl running behind her.

"Oh no, Is May crying?" They finally reached them.

...

May's mother had always said she was good at figuring out how people were feeling. She could tell by their facial expressions how they were all feeling in that room.

She was so glad to be back inside and see Ash and Brock again, but Paul was here.

Ash was super hyped that Misty had come, and they were chatting. Dawn was upset, Paul was not impressed. Brock was shocked. Something else had happened here before they came, but she brushed it away.

"What is this? A Party?" Paul sat up in his bed.

"May, what happened?" Ash asked me. She was about to answer, when she realised.

"Ash, you remember!" She jumped up and hugged him, he hugged back. Dawn covered her head with a pillow and pretended to sleep.

"Why is that girl crying?" Paul asked plainly, pointing to Misty. Her sudden outburst made May want to tell them.

"We were coming over to you guys... we followed these footprints, thinking they were yours. Then they lead us straight into a cave, so we thought you must of been in there warming up. When we went inside to look for you... we saw something else." May trailed off, the thought of it disturbed her. She had called Officer Jenny, and she was heading there now.

"What was it?"

Well... we saw... Team Rocket." They all gave her a confused look, apart from Misty.

"Team Rocket?" Ash asked her, listening carefully.

"Well, we saw Jessie anyway. She was..."Her voice shook and she couldn't help it.

"Dead." Misty finished her sentence.

" Dead!? But how? " Dawn shouted down, no one knew the answer.

"There was blood by her head and legs, I think, by what Jenny said..." I started again. I looked to Misty for help.

"She might of been pregnant." Misty finished for her again. No one spoke for a long time. It took a lot of time for them to believe that all this had happened too. That wasn't all that happened.

"That makes me kind of sad." Dawn whimpered. Even Paul looked a bit upset.

"It also said on the wall 'James is next.'" Misty broke the silence.

"I hate them, but I don't want them to die." _I don't either, Ash._ Only seconds passed by before Brock started a new subject. May was glad he did.

"So err, we looked at the legend." He sweat dropped at everyone's silence. "Can I talk to you outside, May?" Why her?

"Ash, can we go outside too?" Misty asked.

"Sure." He smiled. _God, I love his smile_.

So they all went out in the dark. Misty and Ash went off and sat by a tree, probably catching up. Brock and May sat at one of the picnic benches and began to talk.

"The legend, Brock?"

"Oh, yes. I know you've just met him, sort of, but I'm sure you want to know. The legend is totally insecure though."

"I still want to know." She pleaded.

"Well, the legend says that a boy and his Pikachu will come every so often and save the world from the legendaries..."

"Hold on, the legendaries?"

"Yes, they don't get along with humans. The only reason they behave is because the champion stops them. Until the champion dies, they behave. Legend says that the legendaries slowly kill off every one he cares about, then him, then the world." May was shocked, this couldn't be true, could it?

"When do you think the champion will die?" May looked at him with sadness printed on her face.

"He died yesterday." So that means if the legend is true, the legendaries were going to kill off everyone Ash cared about? No, that's impossible. "There's more."

"Go on..."

"The legend also says that Ash must choose a partner to help him."

"Partner?" What kind of partner?

"A female partner. Like a ... Championess. But, the thing is, he doesn't really get to choose. The temple chooses for him." This was confusing her to the Max.

"Temple?" She had heard of the temple in Celestic Town. Very little people had, it was extremely well hidden.

"Yes, we're going there tommorow."

May didn't know why, but as she sat there talking to Brock, she wanted to cry. It was probably because of all the commotion, and partly because of Jessie.

So Ash was the champion? Were the legendaries really going to kill off everyone he cares about, and him? The thing that was bugging me the most right now was the fact that a temple was going to choose his partner for him, and that he might die.

"You can come too, if you like."

"Okay, thanks " She whispered and turned away.

"I'm going inside now, you should go see Ash." Brock stood up and left the table. It was cold outside, but May didn't care right now. She looked over at Ash, he was sitting alone. That means Misty must have gone back inside too. May didn't blame her, all she was wearing was shorts and tank top.

May approached Ash, he was looking away from her.

"Hey, Ash." She sat next to him.

"Did Brock tell you?"

"Yeah, he did. I want you to know that I'll help you in any way I can." Her failing attempt at sympathy wasn't going anywhere.

"That's okay May." He turned to look at her. "I want you to come to the temple tommorow." Why her? She was going to go anyway, but he really wanted her there?

"I will." I moved closer to him. I don't care if legendaries tried to kill me, I wanted to be close to him. He was a great friend already.

She put her head on his shoulder. He looked at her, surprised. His arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her even closer. They stayed like this for what seemed like hours. Two best friends staring at the stars.

They woke up early the next day. As soon as they woke up, May quickly showered and got dressed before going to the other room to see Ash. They were all ready too, apart from Dawn, who wasn't going because they hadn't told her about the legend yet. _I'm sure Brock or Ash will in their own time._

Brock was on the phone to a friend, asking for a ride. Ash was stroking Pikachu on his shoulder. Paul was packing a backpack. Dawn must of been in the shower. Brock finally said goodbye and hung up.

"She's gonna come over now. You ready?" May nodded.

"Right, lets go." Paul was the first out and they all followed. The corridors were very quiet. It was still only about 7am, so you couldn't blame people for still being in bed. May caught a glimpse of the weather outside through a window. It looked sunny, but cold. The trees were dead still, so she guessed there was no wind.

Brock's friend was already outside when they emerged from the Centre. She rolled down the window of her truck.

"Hi." May shook her hand, "I'm Lucy."

"Nice to meet you, I'm May."

"Hop in, everyone. The temple isn't too far away." They all got in. Brock in the front, Ash and May in the back seats. Every time she looked at him she couldn't help but blush and think of the night before.

...

It was strange, watching someone grow up right next to you. Then watching them be put in danger and know that all you can do is wait, for a signal. Ash wasn't going to know when a legendary was going to swoop down and pick him up. Jessie was probably killed by a legendary. Today, a temple was going to choose Ash's championess. Brock kind of felt sorry for him, because he could sense that he wasn't happy with it and obviously already liked someone else.

May was with us too. She had told me that Ash wanted her to come, which was strange because he wasn't keen on Dawn coming. What was there to see anyway? _Just the beginning of Ash's new life, Brock._

We were at the temple now, but we left Lucy and Pikachu in the car.

It was just a very small temple, with only one room. The temple rarely got visits yet the torch's on the side of the wall were lit and shining. From the door to the platform at the end of the room, there was a long red carpet, dusty and old. Pillars kept the temples ceiling up, engraved on them were pokemon, some extinct. Parts of the walls and roof had caved in and lay in piles on the floor, letting sun rays through so you could see the dust settling around you.

On the platform at the end was a machine, it looked modern. It was just like a circle on the floor, glowing green. He knew straight away what Ash had to do, and he did too, as he began to walk up the red carpet.

May and Brock walked along too, but stopped infront of the platform. It wasn't him that was going to be affected by this, but his heart was beating faster than ever. A lump formed in his throat so that he couldn't say anything. May lowered her head next to me as Ash stepped onto the platform and the machine.

Nothing happened.

"What now?" Ash asked. Brock looked around and spotted a round button on the closest pillar. He pressed it gingerly and hoped nothing bad would happen.

The green on the platform glowed bright. Ash stepped off of it and a figure began to appear.

It took so long to appear, but finally it did. It was an exact replica of her too, but a hologram. Ash was silent. Brock couldn't read his emotions. They could tell May's. She stood silent too, for just a moment, taking in the image infront of her. Then, suddenly she ran out of the temple. Ash began to run after her, but Brock stayed and looked at the hologram.

There, standing infront of him, was Dawn.


	9. Captured

.: Chapter 9 :.

Ash wondered how long he'd been looking for May. He wished she would of stayed. Her stuff was still in their room, so she hadn't left yet. That was good.

Now he was on a field, the grass swaying gently in the wind. Small Pidgey's pecked at the ground before flying away into the trees, ready for the night. Meanwhile the Noctowl's began flying over the skies, swirling around each other and crying out. It was peaceful. The sun was just peaking over the side of the Earth, casting an orange light across them all, as the moon appeared on the other side.

That's when Ash spotted her, sitting in the middle of the field, pulling up the grass and twirling it in her fingers. He couldn't see her face, but I could tell she was thinking just by the way she sat there.

He wondered whether he should of go over or not - but before he could say no, she turned around and saw him watching her, so he went over and sat beside her on the grass. Neither of use spoke. Ash liked the silence. It wasn't awkward with her, like it was with Dawn. He didn't know how long they sat there before she spoke to him.

"Congratulations." She turned to me and smiled, the smile he'd been waiting to see.

"For what?"

"Well, it chose Dawn, like you wanted." Was the smile fake? He couldn't tell. She had the wrong idea here.

"No, you have the wrong idea May." Ash corrected her.

"I'm not so sure " She sighed, "I'm not sure about anything any more."

"Me neither, I still don't know what's going on." He smiled and tried to make her feel better - He could see it didn't work. He wasn't the best at it.

"Oh, Ash. I know I shouldn't be getting myself involved, but I want to." Her sentence struck him, and his thoughts from earlier returned.

"No." Ash stood up and shook his head, this was wrong. "Don't come near me." He warned her in a harsh way. He saw her eyes become wider, and her look of confusion aimed at him. What else could he have done? If he let her get close to him, she would just get hurt too. The rest... Well maybe it was too late for them. He wasn't that close to May, and he didn't want to be close to her. When she began to follow him, I wished she'd just stay away.

"Ash? Did I say something wrong?" She squeaked, but she wasn't crying - yet.

"Just stay away! Is that so hard to do?" He shouted and swung his arms. Then she did start to cry. He began to walk away, but he could hear her whispering from behind him.

"Yes."

...

It was little less than an hour since Ash lashed out at her. She didn't know why, but he had upset her so much... She just wanted to run away. So she did.

Now she was back at the Pokemon Centre, and was packing her bag of the little stuff she had brought. The things she had brought here because of Ash. The thought made her pack even faster, and after checking she had all her things, she began to head to the door.

Suddenly, she felt eyes on her. May turned slightly to notice Brock, who had caught her leaving. She didn't want anyone to see her leave, so all she could do was stand and look at him as he looked at her. She wondered if he could tell she'd been crying or not.

"Where are you going, May?" He asked her politely, but she didn't have time for a chat. Ash would be back soon, and she couldn't bare to even look at him right now. Not that she didn't want to see him again...

"I'm leaving." She said plainly. But what Brock said next seemed to stop her, though she'd heard it all before.

"It'll upset Ash if you leave, May." Brock crossed his arms, but he didn't know the real reason for her leaving. He expected her to go back into the room and put all her things down, just like that. Well that wasn't happening.

So she turned and left anyway, still feeling Brock's eyes on her back as she walked out of the corridor and turned away from them all.

...

_Everyone here is driving me insane, I swear._

_I don't even know why I'm helping._

And for some reason, Ash wouldn't tell Paul who the temple chose, and he seems... like Paul. He won't talk. Paul didn't care. It's probably because the brat left, Paul didn't blame her. He sure hoped Ash didn't care about him.

We we're all sitting in our room, Paul figured Brock or Ash was going to finally tell Dawn the legend - and they did.

Dawn was still taking it in, when they battered her with more information.

"Wait wait wait, so when are you getting your Championess chosen?" This is the bit Dawn seemed most concerned about, furthermore concerning me. He felt something for her, that he'd never felt for anyone else. He though he was probably helping them all because she wanted him to. His brother always said the day would come when Paul would finally fall for a girl and lighten up. _That day will never come if I can help it._

The truth was that I used May to make Dawn jealous.

"The temple's already chosen someone, that's where we were today." Ah, now he saw Dawn get a bit angry - because they left her behind. But she didn't say anything about it._ I guess she doesn't want to upset Ash any more than he already is._

"So... who...?" They all understood what she wanted to know. He was kind of curious himself, to be honest. Neither of them looked like they wanted to tell Dawn at all, but she's their best friend. Ash stood up and left the room.

"Well... the temple chose..." Brock stopped and took in a breath, like it was going to kill him when he said it. _Why were they making such a fuss?_ "...You."

Then everything went silent. So, the temple chose the person Paul liked, and not the one he likes. Does he even like anyone? He's too dumb. _This is just typical, another way for life to mess with us_. Brock didn't seem to have any opinions on the matter.

Dawn's lips curled now, as a grin spreads from ear to ear, and she couldn't stop it.

Now Paul could see why the brat left. Brock looked at him like he expected him to say something. _What can I say? I'm upset, slightly, maybe he can tell._

"I... I'm so pleased." Dawn choked out. Brock smiled at her but he wasn't happy. Dawn looked at him and frowned. She knew what he felt, because he showed her earlier, which was stupid of him. Paul knew she didn't like him in that way, but he still did it.

"Did you tell her?" Ash's head appeared around the corner, and he stepped in. Before anyone could say anything, Dawn jumped up.

"Yes." Brock nodded, and Dawn ran over to Ash. Paul think she's going to kiss him, and she does. He could tell that Ash was not properly kissing back. _Is this the first time he's kissed a girl?_

"This is typical, he doesn't even like her back. Life is a mess!" Paul shouted and pushed past them. _I can't watch any more of this madness._

...

"Brock, are you there?" Lucy had called him just a moment earlier.

"Yes, Lucy, what is it?" He asked her, she sounded stressed.

"Quick, turn on the news." Then she hung up on me. Strange.

Brock did what she asked anyway, after grabbing Ash and Dawn's attention. (They had been playing cards as neither of them could sleep.)

The TV flickered on. The news reporter was standing infront of a forest, a forest that looked like another he'd seen before...

"I'm here, outside of the small town known as 'Pallet Town.'" Brock could hear Ash lean forward and gasp slightly. "Where the legendary pokemon Palkia is currently attacking at full blast, for no reason at all."

"It's started already?" Ash looked at me, "We have to do something, Brock!"

"I'm so sorry Ash... There's no ferries until tommorow morning." He explained to him, but he wasn't listening to Brock any more. He looked like he had an idea, and ran outside. Dawn and Brcok followed close behind, calling his name.

When they finally caught up with Ash, (and found him.), he was holding three Pokeballs.

"Go, Staraptor!" He tossed the first one. Staraptor was surprised to be out so late at night. So was Brock.

"Staraptor, I know it's a lot to ask, but I need you to fly me to Pallet Town." _There's no way Staraptor can handle that!_

"Are you leaving now?" Dawn didn't want him to go either.

He turned to his friends swiftly as if he was glad she asked him, "You can come too if you like." He tossed the other two pokeballs, "We need you, Pidgeot and Swellow!"

"Yes yes yes! I'm not leaving you." Dawn jumped on Swellow's back, it happily allowed her on. She really cared for him, or she wouldn't be putting herself in so much danger for him. Brock wanted to show he cared too, so he hopped on Pidgeot, and they set off for Pallet, in the dark.

...

May was still walking, because she had no where to stay, and no supplies. She wasn't tired either, so she just followed the path towards Hearthome City again, so she could participate in a contest there and forget about the past two weeks, but it would be hard.

A cold gust of wind almost blew her off her feet as three large bird pokemon from different regions flew above me, way up high. _That's strange, it's late for them to be out, and why are they travelling together? _She asked herself. Then they began to land beside her, and she began to panic and run. She turned around for one last look.

"MAY!" Was that... Brock? He was waving at her, this wasn't a dream. She ran back over and embraced him, even though she didn't know him that well. The other two birds landed as well. May was surprised to see Dawn, and even more surprised to see Ash. She didn't want to see him then.

"Hop on?" Ash offered, and held out his hand. She looked at him for a moment - into his eyes, and took it reluctantly. As soon as she did, we flew up. She wrapped my arms around Ash's waist so that she didn't fall off. Ash didn't mind, but Dawn did. May hated to admit it, but she liked it.

It seemed she wouldn't be forgetting about these guys any time soon.

About an hour later, they stopped for a break in Hoenn. May didn't know where we were going, but she didn't care. They were in Petalburg and all was peaceful. May invited everyone to rest in her garden. It was strange to be home. Even if it was just for half an hour.

"Where are we going, exactly?" She asked them once they reached the gym.

"Pallet Town - Ash's home town... The legend is already coming to life." Brock answered her question rather than Ash, who wanted to leave straight away.

"What does that mean?"

"Palkia is attacking Pallet." Brock told her. She didn't need to be told twice as they got back on the birds to set back off. The only thing was... How could they stop a Palkia, and would they arrive in time? May hoped so.

...

When they arrived in Pallet, it was already in ruins and Palkia was gone. Every house they could see was just a pile of rubble and dust, and fires spread along the trees nearby. It was hard to see and breath because of all the smoke from the houses. There was no life, anywhere.

Surprisingly, Ash didn't cry. Instead, they carried on walking and looked around. Dawn didn't don't know why they were looking, you couldn't even tell the buildings apart. Ash obviously could though, as he knew when they were standing out of his house. This one was still standing, along with Professor Oak's lab.

They all went into Ash's house, and he started calling on his Mom, but only Mr. Mime came out and began crying on Ash's leg.

"Hey, what's this?" May had a note in her hand. She gave it to Ash and he read it aloud.

_Dear twerps and twerpettes,_

_We have your mother, main twerp._

_If you ever want to see her again,_

_Come to Team Rocket HQ, Cerulean City and forfeit all of your pokemon._

_Oh, and be sure to get your pokemon from Oak too._

_6:00pm tommorow_

_Don't be late._

Ash closed the note and looked them all in the face. Tomorrow it was. They would all go and make sure Ash's pokemon didn't get taken from him. If they had to, they would storm around that HQ and beat every Rocket grunt and Giovanni. They all deserved it, for doing this to Ash.

Over the last couple of days Dawn realised something, something she thought was impossible. It obviously wasn't. She realised, that she loved Ash Ketchum more than she already did. But did she even know what love was?

May had never seen a place as messed up as Pallet Town. A town in Hoenn was bombed and it looked better that this. It looked much better.

Then things just got worse, because Ash's Mom had been taken away. Ash was already upset and had a lot on his mind.

Pikachu made a noise like it was hurt. Ash looked at his lifelong buddy and stroked his cheek.

"I won't let them get you, don't worry."

"Chuu!" Pikachu purred like a Glameow.

"... Are we going to Team rocket Headquarters tommorow?" Dawn asked Ash.

"I am, you're not." He looked at her, and turned to May before she could argue. "And neither are you." she understood why he didn't want them to go, but she would follow anyway.

" Don't you do this to me, Ash. " Dawn put her hands on her hips to make her point clear. Ash just shook it off.

When May thought about it, this was all becoming like a fantasy novel. It was something you would never think about. Something you would never expect to happen to... you. It' was all because she met Ash Ketchum, but she didn't care about that bit... _ I think he does_. Ash never made that big a fuss about the legend. It seemed so unreal to her - like she was going to wake up from a dream any moment. A dream that was more unreal than a dream. It was kind of exciting at times... but other times, it was horrible. It would be like that until Ash found out how to control the legendaries.

It feels funny thinking that, because you would never think of your friend saving the world and being the chosen one._... To save the world from ruins._

It was night now. Ash was letting us stay at his house for the night. Unfortunately, we were one room short. Ash said he would figure that out when he got back, then he went out somewhere. May decided to follow him, almost like spying - but she didn't call it spying because that would make her feel guilty. She called it ' checking up ' on him. She also wanted to know why he had shouted at me earlier.

May followed Ash down to Pallet Beach, which was only small. She wondered if Ash used to visit here often when he was a child, _I know I used to go down to the shore all the time with my Mom and Dad_. Of course, she didn't know what happened to Ash's Dad, it would be rude of her to ask at this time. So, if Ash's Mom... was lost, he would be an orphan? She couldn't imagine how that must feel.

Ash sat on the sand for a while. She thought he was going to cry, but he didn't. She used to do this too when her Mom and Dad argued or Max was annoying her too much. Ash grabbed a pokeball from his pocket and tossed it up into the air. A Buizel emerged and quickly started entertaining itself in the water. Soon, Ash must have realised he was being a bit selfish and let the rest of his pokemon out, including a Monferno.

Monferno quickly took a liking to May, and ended up giving away her position by running over to greet her.

"Shh!" She hushed it, but still stroked it's warm head. It was too late though, Ash had seen her. She walked beside Monferno to Ash, and sat down next to him. Just as he had when she was sitting in the field.

"Aren't you cold?" He asked. It was nice of him to be concerned, and she was slightly cold – she just didn't want him to know and get worried.

"No, I'm okay. I was just checking you were fine." May smiled at him to back up her bad lie.

"I'm sorry I shouted at you the other day." He finally apologized.

"Why did you shout?" She didn't want to harass him too much. She wasn't bothered about the apology, she only wanted to know the reason.

"Because... You know what the legend says, I didn't want you to get close to me. But it's your choice." She understood now, that was all she wanted to know.

"I do." May muttered, so that he didn't hear, and she smiled with my head lowered. _Yes, Ash, I want to be your friend._

"You do what?" Ash had heard me, causing her to blush.

"I do want to get closer." He blushed slightly then too, probably because he found it awkward.

May didn't blush because of that.

They didn't stay long after that, and they walked back to Ash's house in silence. Probably because both of them had embarrassed themselves on the beach. She didn't care, she felt she needed to help Ash as much as she could - even if it was just cheering him up.

When they got back to Ash's house, Dawn and Brock were already sleeping. So Ash guessed they had already decided that they were taking the two spare rooms. May looked at Ash to try and figure out what she would do. She could tell he was trying to work it out.

"Well, I guess you could sleep in my room and I'll sleep on the sofa." He offered, but she refused.

"No, I'll sleep on the sofa. You need sleep tonight." He tried to argue with her for a while but she wasn't hearing any of it. Eventually, he went upstairs to bed.

...

Ash couldn't sleep. He knew he wouldn't. After all, his Mom was captured and they could be doing anything to her.

Also, it was cold. He was shivering and stirring. He had drifted off a few times, but just woke up again due to the horrific nightmares he would get.

He heard his door open, he knew it was May. Ash guessed she thought he was asleep. She tip-toed over to his bed and lay next to him.

He found himself blushing madly and he just hoped she couldn't see his face in the dark. She tried her best to be quiet as she settled her head on his chest.

Ash guessed that May was having trouble sleeping alone, maybe she was scared or cold. He knew one thing; she was warming him up. What was this strange feeling he got when she was near him now?

After a while, he became comfortable and let his own head rest against hers. He felt her tense up for a while, when she realised Ash was at least partly awake, but she soon fell asleep. Asleep next to him.

* * *

><p><strong>Yeah, that was extremely cheesy, and I'm bad at writing those parts. Never mind.<strong>

**For now,**

**Ninja**


	10. From Here to Hoenn with You

**Just another re-upload in third person. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>The next day started like every other day. They woke up and ate breakfast, though Ash didn't eat much. Neither did May. Dawn was a bit upset with Ash for not eating, he was going to need the energy.<p>

"Please eat something, Ash." She pleaded. He didn't answer her, he just pushed his plate away from him.

Dawn pushed it back towards him.

"Don't force him Dawn." May growled at her. _Oh no she didn't._

"I'm only trying to help, unlike you." Dawn fired back at her. Her eyebrows almost knitted together.

"I've helped more than you, and you know it! I tried to cheer him up last night while you just decided to take the beds! I made him feel better. You think forcing him to eat will?" She paused. Dawn was shocked, she'd never spoken to her like that before. Ash was shocked too, as was Brock. "Forgive me for helping a friend, your highness. Just because the temple chose you, doesn't mean you're the only girl he can talk to. I see the way you've acted, trying to keep him away. Ever thought about what Ash wants?" She shot more at her. Her eyes were glued on Dawn, and she was mad. Dawn looked to Ash for support, but he was poking at his food and not looking at them.

"... I'm sorry. I was just worried." She apologized, though she didn't want to.

"So..." Brock changed the conversation, "Is Palkia part of the legend then?"

"It looks that way. I don't think Palkia would attack for no reason."

"Isn't it all legendary's, and aren't they all bad?" May looked at Brock. She was thinking the same thing as Dawn, she was wondering if they were all bad too.

"I think they all are."

"This is going to be hard." May face palmed.

_Smash!_

Everything went black as they all ducked low and covered their heads with their hands. The whole building shook and glass flew everywhere, sticking in Dawn's knees and her hands as she knelt.

They couldn't see anything for smoke.

When it cleared, Dawn could see the entire front wall was gone.

Ash was bleeding from the hands, and it was staining the light carpet. He was asking May if she was okay. She said she was, but Dawn could tell she wasn't.

Then Dawn started crying from shock and Ash came to hug me.

"Look!" May pointed up, and they all followed her point.

Dialga was hovering about the house, staring down at Ash.

"Run!" Ash turned and shouted at his friends. Would Dialga attack like Palkia had? Was this the end? May and Dawn scrambled up and began to run - but Dawn stopped. The sensation and red aura was back.

Not again...

Ash could feel the new Dawn's eyes on him. They were a beautiful shade of red, glowing bright in the sun. She smiled almost sinisterly at him. The same shade of red flamed around her. Ash tried not to move, in case Dialga or Dawn attacked.

"Hello again, Ash." Dawn hissed. Her words hung in the air like dust.

"Dialga?" Why wasn't Dialga attacking?

"I see you've chosen your championess. A wise decision." Dialga praised him. Ash didn't choose her... Surely it knew that?

"I didn't choose her personally..." He stuttered out. He didn't want to offend Dawn. He could hear May shift behind him.

"I bet you want to know what happens next." Dawn began cackling, it was horrible.

"I do." May stepped forward.

"You can go to Team Rocket's headquarters, but your mother is already dead."

Ash was frozen on the spot and he didn't move. May wanted to cry. She wanted to cry for him, because now he had no family at all. He hadn't done anything to deserve this, yet it was all beating down on him.

"I'll kill them all!" May screamed madly, for the sake of Ash.

"It was not them, it was Palkia." Dawn snorted. Dialga and Palkia had never got along, is that why Dialga was helping us now?

"I suggest you go to Team Rocket anyway." Dawn's voice began to come back. Slowly, the aura disappeared and she fell limp to the floor.

Brock ran over and picked her up. Dialga screeched and flew away. Ash hadn't said a word since the horrible news, but he didn't cry. May would of.

"Oh, Ash." She frowned, and he turned to hug her. Even though it was his mother that died, May cried on his shoulder – She felt pain too.

"Listen, is that a voice I hear?" No, no, no.

"It speaks to me loud and clear!"

"I give up, I can't do it!"

James and Meowth were in the usual balloon, but of course Jessie wasn't there. May almost felt sorry for them.

"Team Rocket." Brock stated the obvious and threw a Pokeball, despite holding Dawn, "Go, Croagunk!"

"Let's go, Carnivine!" James screamed, but the grass pokemon has other ideas and began gnawing on his head as he tried to pull it off.

"Let me do this, Brock." May volunteered. He nodded at her and she pulled out her own Pokeball.

"Blaziken, I choose you!" She spun and tossed the Pokeball. Blaziken was happy to see her, but confused as to where they were.

"Use Flamethrower!" Blaziken followed her instruction, fainting Carnivine and burning James.

"I give up, we just came to deliver a message!" And James landed the balloon. He passed the message to Ash, who opened it warily.

"Dear Ash and Friends,

I've read the legend myself and I cannot believe it.

For years I've sent Jessie and James to follow you. The reason why they always failed, was because I asked them too. I was following your progress, and checking how tough you were. I never wanted your Pokemon.

You have all become very strong, and I would like to ask you all to join Team Rocket as your own team like Jessie and James. If you do, we will give you all the help you will need for the legendaries.

Giovanni "

"What? That can't be the only reason for Giovanni following us." Brock was right, May was never followed, but you wouldn't just follow somebody to check how strong they are. Anyway, it seems Ash had been strong for a long time, so why not just ask him then? Why wait for this important time?

"It Isn't."

"Then what's the other reason?" May asked.

"Do you really want to know, Ash?" Brock looked shocked that James had called him Ash.

"Yes, I guess."

"Giovanni's your dad." Silence.

"No, he's not." Ash began shaking his head. He was upset.

"I'm sorry." James apologized though it wasn't his fault.

"And I'm sorry about Jessie." Brock bowed slightly, everything went silent.

"Uh, thanks... about that offer?" A tearful James turned to Ash.

"I'll never join that scumbag." Ash spat. He turned to walk the other way.

"Where are you going?" Ash just kept walking, despite May's shouting.

"Professor Oak's." He began running, and May ran after him.

_Crash!_

Ash flew backwards and landed on the grass with a soft thud. In front of him was another boy who had come running around the corner. This boy looked strangely familiar, like May had seen him before.

He was around Ash's age. His hair was spiked up naturally and a light brown colour. His shades were held up on his head, some of his hair fell over his face. His eyes were a dark brown, in fact you could of called them black. He was actually quite attractive.

"Uh, my head." Ash moaned.

"Ash!" The boy shouted, and hugged Ash. May thought it was a little weird, but she said nothing.

"Gary?" The other boy 'Gary' pulled away and helped Ash up. "Gary, you're here!"

"I came here to see the damage, just like you did, I suspect." He glanced around. "Your house was standing before. How's Delia?"

Ash didn't say anything, and looked away.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Ash. I didn't know."

"It's okay." Ash tried to smile.

He looked so worn out, it worried May. How could he handle all of this bad news? She'd never been in a situation half as bad, except from now.

Gary and Ash were just looking at each other for a while, like two Pokemon would before battle. As if they were waiting for the other to move.

Just as May had thought, Ash's back bent backwards and he fell hard to the floor.

Ash's back had bent in an un-natural position and May had run over to him as Gary did. He was out cold, so they took him to Professor Oak's lab.

Ash lay on the sofa with a bag of ice resting on his forehead. He was burning up. Gary was making tea in the kitchen. Dawn was still unconscious beside me and May was silent.

Brock took an Oran berry from his bag and mushed it up before attempting to make Ash eat it.

"What are you doing?" May muttered.

"Oran berries might help with the fever."

Then May burst out crying and Brock had to do the comforting, again.

"What?" Dawn sat up on the sofa and rubbed her forehead. She looked slightly drunk and clueless.

"Welcome back Dawn."

"What happened to Ash?" She rushed by his side, just as May thought she would. She began rubbing the back of her hand on his cheek. "He's really warm."

"He has a high fever. It should pass, but we'll have to be patient."

"Where are we going next?" May cried on Brock's arm as she pulled at his sleeve. "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know May." He looked over at Ash instead. "Ash doesn't have a home now; he'll have to stay somewhere else. Somewhere hidden."

"My house!" Dawn offered.

"Sorry Dawn, but they already probably know where you live, so you need to go back and help your mother protect Twinleaf Town. May, you take Ash back to your house once he's better. They'll never guess where you live. I'll go back to my gym and protect as much as I can. I'll call people, we need as many as we can if we're going to defeat every legendary." The rest nodded.

The next day, Gary agreed to help keep Sinnoh in shape, and Lucy was over in Kanto on the ferry to help Brock. Cynthia was in Hoenn, and so were Paul and Misty. Only May, Dawn, Ash and Brock needed to leave now. Ash still had his fever though - It wasn't calming at all. Ash was due to leave for Hoenn that day, but he wasn't even conscious.

Brock tried his best to make him better - so did Dawn and May.

Ten minutes before they left, Ash woke up.

"Ash!" Dawn flung her arms around him. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"Me too." May smiled nervously. No doubt there was something going on here.

"Dawn, I can't breathe!" Ash giggled. "Where are we going Brock?" Ash looked at the bags on the floor.

"You're going to Hoenn with May to hide for now. Dawn is going to Sinnoh and I'm staying here in Kanto. The only thing we can try is to actually defeat them with our Pokemon, unless there is another way." He explained for Ash.

"Wait, hide!? I don't want to hide, I want to help!" He shouted at him.

"You will be, we're all helping."

"The ferry's will be here soon, let's go!" Dawn passed Ash and May their bags and dragged them out of the house and Brock called his goodbyes. he hoped Dawn would be okay on her own in the ferry...

Ash was pleased that he was going to Hoenn with May, because he wanted to spend time with her. However, he knew it wasn't going to be like a holiday.

May and Ash went separate ways from Dawn at the port, and then they were standing on the side of the departing ferry, waving back at Dawn - who's ferry would arrive soon.

May looked over at me and smiled, and he smiled back.

Suddenly, the boat swayed and Ash fell backwards onto the floor.

"Ah, are you okay Ash?" May held out her hand and helped him up.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You dropped something..." She pointed. She was right, he had dropped something. Too bad I didn't know what it was. I picked up up nonetheless. It was a pink and white ribbon, with a half circle gold plate, looking like it had been cut neatly in half. It was by far the most beautiful ribbon he'd ever seen.

"No way, Ash!" May shouted at him and suddenly started looking in her bag for something. She pulled out something and held it up. It was the exact same as Ash's. In fact, it was the other half! They held them up so that they were almost joined. A perfect fit.

Ash blushed and pulled his away because he realised they were making a heart shape with their hands.

"Where did you get yours?"

"I don't actually know. I've never seen it before." _Great, now you sound crazy._

"Me neither. That is strange." May put hers back in her bag too.

We never spoke of the ribbon again, but when she wasn't looking Ash would look at it and every time he did, he would blush bright red. _What's wrong with you?_

"Can I ask you something Ash?" May asked him later that night by the pool, which was empty apart from May and him.

"Sure."

"Have you ever fallen in love?" She looked at him, her eyes were full of wild curiosity.

"I.. uh.." He didn't know what to say because he'd always acted dumb towards love, but he had a pretty good idea what it was and how it made you feel. "Yes." Ash spluttered out. May looked surprised. "What about you?" His own curiosity got the better of him.

"I suppose I have." She kicked her feet around in the pool nervously. "Ash.. are you.. are you in love now? With somebody?"

"..." What was she supposed to say to that. Ash wasn't sure if he was or not, so he had to think it through a lot. "I am." He blushed bright red and looked away at a pathetic attempt to hide it. "Are you?"

"I just realised I am." She smiled and closed her eyes as if she was daydreaming.

"What does that mean?" He was confused. Her last sentence sounded weird.

"…" May looked at him as if he was stupid. Maybe he was being stupid. May closed her eyes and began to lean in. Wait was she trying to...?

Ash found himself doing the same, but they both stopped before they reached each other and pulled away, blushing.

"I'm going to get some food. Do you want any?" May broke the silence. Ash shook his head so she went to get food for herself. As soon as she was gone, he pulled out his phone and began texting the only person he knew could tell him what was going on.

_Bring Bring_

_Ash._

Paul's phone sounded,

He pulled it out of his pocket and read the text.

**Having girl troubles,**

**you any good with that stuff?**

**Ash.**

Paul couldn't help but start laughing at him.

**Yeah maybe. What sort of problems? It's not one of those 'Oh, Dawn and Bianca both want me to call them at the same time, what do I do!' again, is it?**

**Paul.**

_Bring Bring_

**No this is serious Paul.**

**I think I love someone, and that someone is not Dawn.**

**Ash.**

Ash was in deep trouble now. Didn't he know by now that Paul can't keep secrets at all. He copied the text and sent it straight to Dawn.

_Bring Bring_

**Stop making up shit Paul and do something useful.**

**Dawn.**

Ha, funny. She thought he'd made it up. Ok then.

**Okay Ash,**

**Tell me all about it.**

**Paul.**

_Bring Bring_

**I feel so strange, I'm sure it's love. How do I tell Dawn?**

**I can't, can I? She was chosen for me by the temple. I really love this girl though. What would you do?**

**Ash.**

Paul sent the text straight to Dawn again.

**Bullshit Paul.**

**What are these messages?**

**Dawn.**

The truth, Dawn.

**These are the messages Ash is sending me,**

**No joke Dawn.**

**I swear.**

**Paul.**

He sent the last message again, and none came for another five minutes.

**Wtf did you say to Dawn, Paul?**

**Why have you always got to be so insensitive? e_e**

**Ash.**

He quickly texted him back.

**I only told her the truth,**

**That you're cheating on her.**

**Paul.**

_Bring Bring_

**1. Dawn is not my girlfriend.**

**2. You don't even know who the girl is that I like, and I haven't even kissed her yet.**

**Ash.**

He was so stupid, so predictable. He was asking for the next few message to be nasty, but Paul kept them nice.

**Oh, but I do know who it is.**

_Bring Bring._

**Who then?**

_A one word text will do, I think._

**May.**

And he got no messages back.

Meanwhile, over in Kanto, James and Meowth struggled to keep their balloon in the air, as they were attacked by a shadowy figure that they could not see.


	11. Looking for Legendaries

**IMPORTANT MESSAGE: YES, I tried third person in this chapter, and I personally like it better because you can really write more about how all the characters in the scene feel. I also liked writing this one better too.**

**I'm leaving this up to you guys; 3rd Person or 1st Person?**

**I enjoy writing both though!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 11 - <strong>

James and Meowth held desperately onto the balloon as it swayed - and it wasn't swaying in the wind. James now knew what the legendaries had meant when they wrote ' James is next ' on the wall of the cave, the wall of Jessie's dying place.

There was no need for Meowth to be caught up in this, for it was James that it was after. So James picked up Meowth and threw him off the side of the balloon. When the cat pokemon landed, he tried shouting up to James, telling him he shouldn't of. James wasn't hearing any of it. He was too busy trying to fight off this demon.

He had expected his death to be natural, of old age or a natural cause maybe. But now that all seemed impossible, and inside, James knew he was going to die, just as Jessie had. He wasn't bothered about dying too much, Jessie was gone so his life really had no purpose. Jessie was the one who had always given him strength and support . Of course, he still had Meowth, but he wasn't the same as Jessie by far.

Darkrai pulled the balloon back and prepared to slam it against the cliff edge. James prepared to die. Pull it back, hold it for a second, slam it into the...

Darkrai cried out in pain and dropped the balloon, and James fell to the ground. His heart was racing and his throat was dry. He pulled himself together and managed to look at Darkrai and what had saved his life.

It was the bluenette twerpette with her Mamoswine, they must have attacked Darkrai. It didn't do much damage, as you could of expected, but the girl gestured to James telling him to run while he could - but James didn't move. Instead, he sent out his Carnivine and joined in the battle to beat Darkrai.

Meanwhile In Sinnoh

_I'm sick of this now, nothing's happening and I'm stuck in a place that I've never been to before with grumpy Paul. No doubt my sisters are doing a rubbish job of looking after the gym too. _Misty sighed and slumped down onto the chair next to her. She was bored as usual and Paul had gone off somewhere and not told her about it. Not that she cared anyway...

She spotted Paul's phone out of the corner of her eye. She knew she shouldn't of looked at it, but she couldn't help it. She had seen him texting earlier, and he was laughing at times. She was curious, so she picked up the phone and looked at the messages.

Misty looked at the message he'd sent to Dawn, but there were no replies to those ones. She then looked at the ones that Ash had sent... and she couldn't stop herself from laughing at them.

But she was also concerned.

Ash was falling in love with someone, and Misty had always hoped that it would be her. She'd seen the signs when the whole group were together. May and Ash were getting closer everyday and it was noticable. Ash wasn't in a relationship with Dawn yet, but they were supposed to be. Misty wondered what would happen if Ash chose May instead. Would the world end? Would he give up everything to be with her?

_Listen to yourself Misty, you're being ridiculous. Ash is just friends with you, May and Dawn, he's clueless about love so he'd never know if he was falling for anyone. _

" Why are you touching my phone? " It was Paul's voice. Misty jumped and tried to hide the phone behind her back even though he'd already seen it. Paul approached her and held out his hand. She placed the phone into it and apologized.

" You were looking at the texts from Ash, right? " He sat down in the chair opposite her.

" Yeah. " Misty sighed. At least he wasn't angry at her like she thought he would be.

" Have you heard what happened in Pallet yet? " _What is he talking about? _

" No, what happened? Is Ash alright? " She panicked and almost jumped on Paul.

" Yes, he is. The whole of Pallet town was destroyed, and Ash's mother is dead. Gary, Brock, and that Lucy girl are in Kanto now, trying to hold off legendaries there, but so far they haven't seen any. Me, you and Dawn are supposed to be looking after Sinnoh. Ash and May are headed for Hoenn, they might even be there by now. "

" Why the hell are Ash and May together? I knew it, I just knew it. " Misty stormed angrily.

" It was Brock's decision, not his, though he is quite pleased he's going with her. "

" Hey Paul, I just thought of something. Why are you helping your rival, whom you hate, when you could be getting gym badges. This is ruining your chances of winning the Sinnoh league, so I don't understand it. " Misty calmed down and questioned Paul. Paul didn't answer, but instead, he blushed bright red and looked away.

" No reason. I just wanted to help. " Misty knew this was a big fat lie, but she didn't question him any more on it, as he didn't want to talk about it. Instead, she picked up her own phone and went outside to call a friend.

On the ship to Hoenn

" Who were you texting? " May asked as she placed a plate of food infront of Ash, even though he had turned down her offer.

" Paul. " Ash said plainly, as if he was upset.

" Why? " She asked him again and sat next to him.

" I... er... Was just checking if he was okay. " He smiled sheepishly at her and rubbed the back of his head.

_He is such a bad liar. _

" Look! There's Hoenn! " A stranger at the side of the deck shouted. Ash and May stood up for a look too. It wasn't far away, infact, they would only be on the boat for another ten minutes, maybe less.

" Here we are, Hoenn at last. " May stretched as they stepped off the boat. A gust of cold air blew over the both of them, making them shiver. The sky was grey and clouded over. Rain would come soon.

" I think we should hurry. " Ash shivered again and May nodded in agreement. They both began walking from the port of Petalburg City towards the gym, where May and Ash would stay for now.

_Ring!_

Ash's phone called out, and he grabbed it quickly from his pocket and answered it before it could stop.

" Hello? ... Oh, okay?... Yeah, why do you ask? ... Psh, what?... No way, why do you think that? " Ash turned to look at May as he continued to speak, but he blushed and turned swiftly away, making May confused. " Oh, I'm so sorry. ... Fine! " He hung up and stuffed his phone angrily into his pocket again.

" What's wrong, Ash? " May leaned over to look at him in the face, causing him to blush once again for an unknown reason.

" Nothing, just Misty being annoying, as usual. " He sighed and they began walking again. May now wore a frown on her face. Something was on her mind. If she could only get the courage to ask Ash about it. She still thought she didn't know him as well as Misty or Dawn, or anyone else for that matter. Of course, they were friends, good friends. It didn't seem to cut it for May, she wanted more, but she didn't. It confused her until she almost gave up.

Something roared above the two of them. The force almost blew them over as the giant flew past them. Ash grabbed May around the waist to stop her from being blown away with the pokemon.

After he had let go, and calmed down, he pulled out what looked like a PokeGear and dialed a number.

" Lyra, incoming! " A girls face appeared on the screen, a very pretty girl with just slightly darker hair than May's. The girls expression quickly turned to horror, yet she nodded and hung up. Ash crossed his fingers and prayed for her safety. May wasn't sure what had flown passed, but it was obvious that Lyra was in trouble and Ash wasn't happy.

_Ring! _

Ash's phone rang again, this time it was an unknown number. Ash hesitated for a while.

" Put it on loudspeaker. " May said, and Ash did as he was told.

" Hellooo? Twer- I mean Ash, we have trouble here! " It was James' voice, and Ash could hear what sounded like battling in the background.

" How did you get my number? "

" That doesn't matter right now, what should we do! "

" What's wrong? " Ash tensed up as the battling got louder.

" You see, your girlfriend and I are trying to beat Darkrai here but we don't know how! " James shouted as he dodged an attack. Ash's eyes widened once he realised Dawn was involved. Even May was a bit worried, despite the tension between the two. She also felt a bit upset because Ash had known what James meant when he said ' your girlfriend ' and so did she.

" Dawn's there? But how? " Then all they could hear was Dawn shouting ' Ice Shard! ' and then ' Take down! '. Everything went silent.

" It's down! " James celebrated down the phone, but Ash knew they couldn't celebrate yet.

" It won't be down for long! " He warned James.

" So what should we do.. " James trailed off and you could hear Darkrai moan.

Ash looked to May, as if asking for ideas. May lowered her head, embarassed that she couldn't think of any ways to help.

" You'll have to catch it! " Ash suddenly shouted. Some people passing by looked over at them like they were strange, as anybody would think. No reply came and the noise stopped altogether. Ash tried ringing back, but no one answered. All he could do now was get to the gym.

In Sinnoh ( during the time of the phone call to Ash )

" Hey Ash! ... I just called to check if you're okay, don't be so surprised. ... I heard you're falling for a girl. ... A girl named May, perhaps? ... A lot of things Ash, a lot of things you didn't do or think of me. Was I not good enough for you? ... Don't speak to me with that sarcastic tone and don't bother calling me again! " Misty screamed down her phone as Ash while Paul watched. Misty slumped down the side of the tree and began crying. Crying for Ash, for Dawn and crying for the world.

Paul walked over and sat next to her. She didn't bother trying to stop crying. Paul looked at her and she looked back at him, and stopped crying immediatly. _Just do it Misty, you know you want to. Dawn and May stole your love, why don't you get a bit of revenge. _Misty decided that she was going to do it.

Paul was just sitting looking at her, when suddenly she leaned in faster than ever and kissed him straight on the lips, without warning. She had her eyes closed, this had the potential to be a real kiss. When Paul calmed down, he closed his eyes and kissed her back.

Misty waited until they were kissing passionately, before she pulled out her phone and took a picture of them.

In Kanto

_Throw the Pokeball Dawn, you can do it! _Dawn encouraged herself.

Darkrai shifted infront of her, no doubt it would be back up soon, and Mamoswine was already fainted. She was now using Piplup, and even he was nearly down.

Dawn hauled her arm back then extended it forward, throwing the Pokeball across towards Darkrai, and knocking right on the forehead. Dawn was getting good at that.

The Pokeball shook once, then twice, and a third time...

Dawn crossed her fingers and squeezed hard. James had his fingers crossed too, even though it wouldn't help.

_Ping!_

They had done it, she had done it. Darkrai was safe inside a Pokeball now.

Dawn didn't dare let it out, in fear that it may not listen to her and attack some more. Some pokemon were like that to their trainers.

" You did it! " James stood up and had a mini celebratory dance with Meowth, who had just sat there watching, for it would not be much good against the mighty Darkrai. " Why did you help us? " He asked when they stopped.

" A person is a person, no one deserves to die. Darkrai needed to be stopped anyway. " Dawn answered and tucked Darkrai's pokeball in her pocket, when suddenly, her phone went off. She had two text messages, one from Ash and one from Misty. She read Ash's first.

**Are you okay?**

**James isn't picking up the phone.**

**I'm getting really worried.**

**Ash x**

The fact that Ash had put an x by his name for the first time made Dawn smile and blush a little. Then she moved onto Misty's text, and her mood changed completely. All Misty's text was, was a picture. A picture of her and Paul sitting at the trunk of a tree, kissing. Dawn was never sure if she felt anything for Paul, but this picture upset her so much that she wanted to cry. James was by his balloon and not watching her - so she let a single tear slide down her flawless cheek.

**Yeh Ash, we caught Darkrai. **

**Everthing's okay now.**

**Dawn xx**

Dawn pressed send just as James appeared next to her.

" I'm leaving now, thanks for your help... Dawn? " He scratched the back of his head. Dawn nodded to let him know he had the right name.

In Hoenn

Ash and May had reached the gym a while ago and Ash had already recieved the text Dawn had sent. He was slightly calmer, but the fact that a legendary was attacking Johto was bothering him still. Not just because Lyra and Cory were there, but also because the attacks were becoming more frequent.

" Are you okay? " May sat next to him and handed him a cup of hot tea. He thanked her quietly.

" Yeh. " He sipped the tea. " Listen May, I want to ask you something. " Ash said nervously.

" Anything, Ash. " May smiled over at him, making him more nervous than before.

" I was wondering if you wanted... maybe to go see, like, a movie, or go to a resturant later...? " Ash blushed and stuttered, but May was more than impressed. She was excited.

" Of course! There's no harm in having a little fun to take away stress.

Ash may have been clueless to love, but he still wouldn't of called it ' fun to take away the stress. ' It was far, far more important to him than that.

* * *

><p>Ash had never known that May had a brother until now. He would not have found out about it, had he not been wandering around due to his own curiosity. The green haired boy was seated on a small, hard and out-of-place chair in the arena. On his lap was an open book named ' Pokemon Evelutions and Breeding: Volume 25 '.<p>

Ash quickly realised that the boy was asleep in the chair, as his head lulled and light snoring could be heard. Next to the boy was another chair, but this one was empty apart from a closed book sat upon it. Ash could not see the name of this book, and curiosity took hold of him once more.

He stepped lightly on the floor, trying now to wake the dreaming boy. Once he reached the book, he could see it had a red leather cover and a tag. On the tag were the words ' May's diary, Max keep out. '

It occured to Ash that her brother had been reading her diary, but he didn't want to tell her.

" Who are you? " The boy had woken and was staring at Ash. His face suddenly lit up. " I know you, I saw you on Tv in the Kanto, Johto and Hoenn league! Oh, you're an awesome trainer. " Max praised him.

" Oh, thank you. " Ash blushed slightly and smiled.

" Why are you here? You've been here before already. " Max fixed his glasses on his nose and turned sidewards, getting more comfortable in the stiff chair.

" I'm here with your sister. " Ash couldn't come up with a better answer, because it was hard to explain without telling him the legend.

" My sister is back! " Max got up and ran halfway to the door before stopping and swivelling back around to look at Ash again. " And you're her boyfriend? Finally, she has a decent one! " Max ran out of the room before Ash could protest, so he followed him along the corridors of the gym again and out into a greenhouse, where May was sitting in a tree.

" Ash. " She jumped down and smiled at Ash. Max stared in awe as if he were expecting something to happen.

" Hi Max. You've gotten bigger. " She didn't smile as she spoke.

" And you've matured a lot, finally chosen a decent boyfriend. " Max laughed at her. May's face went blood red with embarassment. Ash's face wasn't clear of a blush either.

" No Max, Ash isn't my boyfriend. " May put her fist on his head, reminding him that she was bigger.

" He should be. " Max looked at the two of them again. Ash and May looked at each other, and May seemed to be thinking about what Max had just said.

In Sinnoh

" Want the latest update, Mist? " Paul had started calling Misty by ' Mist ' since the kiss. Misty kind of liked it.

" Yeh? " Misty turned herself around to face Paul.

" Dawn caught Darkrai, that's one legendary down. She's awesome. " Paul smiled but Misty grumbled. It was always Dawn or May, and never her. She would just have to prove to them that she could help out too, by going out and catching one of the legendaries herself.

" What exactly are we doing to help? Sitting being bored all day? No, I want to move out and do something to help, like any friend of Ash's would. I don't care whether you follow me or not, just stay out of my way. " Misty pushed past Paul and took only her small backpack. He watched her leave and gave her just a minutes head start before following her into the forest. Paul almost counted Misty as his girlfriend now and didn't want her to get hurt while looking for legendaries.

In Hoenn

Ash fixed his new outfit and checked himself one more time before attempting to do something with his hair, and failing. He stuck a cap on to cover part of the mess and began heading out the door, when it was blocked by Max.

" Where are you going dressed like that? Out with someone maybe? " He wiggled his eyebrows, and Ash couldn't help but laugh.

" Okay, I'll tell you. I'm going out with your sister tonight. " Ash giggled and Max moved out of the way for him to pass, and they walked along the corridor, where May came out.

She was wearing a new outfit too, a dress that made her look like a princess and no less. Her hair was not in a bandana, but she wore a red ribbon in her hair.

The dress was pink and red, waving all over the floor as she walked, she had a small white jacket to cover her arms.

The pink on her dress parted at her waist and flared out with the red. _Why do I feel so strange? _

Ash's heart raced when he saw her and he could do nothing but gawk at her.

" Did I overdo it? " She twirled, making her look even more beautiful, if it was even possible.

" No, you look beautiful. " Ash complimented her for the first time, making her blush again.

" And you look handsome, shall we go? " May asked and Ash nodded. They walked down the corridor quickly, and as soon as they were out of Max's sight, Ash slipped his hand into May's and they walked outside hand in hand.

As soon as they sat inside, May started feeling uncertain about it, just as she thought she would be. She pulled a letter out of her hidden pocket on the dress and kept it in her hand.

As soon as Ash went to the bathroom, she placed the letter on the table and ran off crying back to the greenhouse. When Ash returned, he read the letter in shock and sadness.

_Dear Ash,_

_I wrote this incase I need it, which I probably won't, because I'm with you! _

_The big problem is, I feel uncomfortable sitting here with you, when your championess is in Kanto, not knowing about all of this. Deep down, I do care about Dawn's feelings too, and she loves you more that you know. _

_Since I was 13, I had this childish thing where I would look at passing boys and decided if they were sutible to be my ' Prince Charming ' or not, and most of them didn't cut it, especially Drew. I stopped looking when I met you, because you fit the position more than anyone else, like I've been looking for you._

_I'm not going to lie. When I first started my journey, I felt like someone was missing. Dialga said you should of met Hoenn girl, I wonder if that's me? Now that i've actually met you, that feeling is no longer there and I feel whole again._

_I'm sorry If I've left, please forgive me, and come back to the gym. _

_Love_

_May_

_P.S ( I added this on just before I left. ) _

_You looked really good tonight, you don't have to do anything with your hair, I like it the way it is right now. _

Ash put the letter in his own pocket and began texting Paul again as he walked back to the gym where May would be waiting.

When he finally arrived back May was sitting with her diary, and Ash managed to catch a line of what she wrote; ' _He doesn't know yet, but I'll tell him when the time is right. ' _- Ash didn't understand what this meant, as usual.

May closed the book as soon as he spotted her and closed the diary. She brushed her dress off and stood up to face him, but neither spoke. It was kind of like a staring competition between the two. It only lasted a minute before May's eyes softened and she leaped forward to hug Ash, and cry on his shoulder for everything that had happened to the two of them in the past weeks. May already felt closer to Ash that anyone else. Ash returned the hug, but he didn't cry.

" I'm sorry. " May apologized when they pulled apart and wiped her eyes of the tears. Ash had wished she wasn't so far away, so he could do that himself.

" It's fine, don't worry about it. "

" I heard that Dawn caught Darkrai and that James nearly died. That's one life saved. " She smiled, and Ash merely nodded. " I'm so worried. " She suddenly shivered and sat down again as if she was going to cry once more.

" Don't be May, I'll make sure you stay safe. " He sat next to her on the grass.

" It's not me I'm worried about, It's you Ash. " Ash gave her a puzzled look. " They're going to try and kill you. What if I can't protect you? "

" You need to protect and worry about yourself, I'll be fine. I promise. " Ash smiled at her but she continued to frown. She slowly slid her hand into his and clenched his hand as they looked up at the stars.

In Sinnoh

Paul dragged along behind a determined Misty, who had been walking for hours without stopping, apparently looking for a legendary. She didn't realise that they weren't just going to appear for her and she would listen to him. She occasionally shouted out that she was a good friend of Ash's, as if asking for death. They were now beside Mt. Coronet and she was starting on the path up to the top.

" Misty stop! Are you crazy? It's dark- Get some rest! " Paul shouted at her but she kept walking, so he followed her up the rocky path. _This is gonna be a looong night._

Misty only stopped once, near the halfway mark. She stopped because she thought she heard something, and it finally brought out the fear in her. Once she realised it was just a Ratata she pretended she was full of courage again and continued the trek up the mountain.

Once they reached the top, it was freezing. Misty was shivering so Paul gave her his jacket, which she thanked his kindly for. Nothing happened at first, but slowly, something began to move.

" What's that noise? " Misty cried quietly, finally admitting that she was scared.

Paul didn't get time to answer.

The giant green snake-like Pokemon appeared out of nowhere and roared, making Misty fall over. She screamed and covered her face with her arm as it charged an attack in it's mouth. It fired the attack quickly, allowing a quick death, a solar beam attack.

The Pokemon moved away, it's work complete. Only a few more to go.

Slowly, something crawled for underneath the rubble.

It was Misty, and she was fine. Rayquaza's attack had missed it's target. She cheered for herself, when suddenly she thought of something that almost made her faint. ... _Where's Paul? _

The place where he had been standing was gone, a big chunk of the top was, but the path was still there.

Down at the bottom of the mountain a phone buzzed loudly in the pocket of a body.

A dead body.

* * *

><p><strong>So, did you like this or the other chapters better? <strong>

**Please answer in reviews.**

**I'll leave you with this little cliffhanger for a while! ;o**

**- Infernape -**


	12. False Confessions

**Hey again guys,**

**I read your reviews and thought about it. I had already realised that the romance was taking over a bit, so this is mainly a filler chapter. It's the shortest there's been for a long time. The next one will have a lot more action in, and I'm turning down the romance after this for a while.**

**Anywho, enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Chapter 12- <strong>False Confession<strong>

It was only when Ash thought about it, did it make him upset more. It made him want to crawl up and cry but he knew that wouldn't help. He wanted to be strong for his mother and make her proud. Her death would not be in vain. He hadn't even had time to call her and warn her about the legendaries before they had attacked her but he still blamed himself. He was the champion and was supposed to protect his family and friends. He felt like he was doing a bad job of both. Lyra and Cory would be in Johto now fighting Ho-Oh and he was just sitting here next to a sleeping May on his shoulder. They weren't answering their PokeGears either.

Sure, Ash's mother was dead, but he was going to show her how strong he could be. He was going to beat these legendaries, for her.

Suddenly, his phone rang and May jolted up beside him. He checked the screen, it was Misty. It was also 2 am.

" Why is Misty ringing this early? "

He answered it and she was already crying.

" Misty? What's wrong? " Ash stood up.

" Ash I'm so scared! " She screamed down the phone making Ash tense up.

" Why Misty? "

" I was stuck on Mount Coronet, the top! And Paul... " She trailed off and began wailing loudly to herself.

" What about Paul? Misty! " Ash shouted. May was eager to know what was going on.

" I think he's dead! " She screamed louder than before, but it was more like an animals cry. Ash stood dead still for a moment, fear and sadness flooding over him, he dropped the phone on the grass but stayed in the same position.

" Ash? What happened? Talk to me Ash? " May shook him. He ignored her and closed his eyes. He pushed her lightly out of the way and ran into the gym, leaving the phone on the ground.

When Ash got inside of the gym he started crying. He cried for his mother, Paul, Lyra and all the other people that were going to be hurt because of him. Now three people were dead because of him. Because he'd failed to protect them like he thought he should of. It was just so hard to know when and where they were going to attack. Ash decided he wasn't going to let anyone get hurt because of him.

He came to the room he was staying in and flopped down on the bed, falling straight asleep and dreaming, not about May like he had been before but about his mother and Paul.

In Sinnoh

Misty finally stopped crying and descended the mountain slowly. She was deadly silent and never took her eyes away from the road infront of her. She would kick pebbles off the side of the road infront and hold onto the wall for balance but that was all she did. It was dark but the moon lit up the road infront enough for her to walk down it. She'd cried all the tears she could muster up, even though she had only just become closer to Paul. She couldn't even feel any anger for Rayquaza, she was just too tired for all of that now.

She reached the bottom of the mountain and jumped off of a small ledge onto the grass and almost collapsed from exhaustion. It was late now and Misty was cold, hungry and tired. She was upset and confused too.

When Misty pulled herself together she began to travel around the mountain. It must have been 5am and it would take her days to circle the whole mountain. She didn't care, she just wanted to find Paul because she had hope for him and his survival.

Misty was wrong though, Paul was closer to her than she thought. He was just half a mile from where she was standing. It took her just half an hour to jog to where he lay.

" Please, Paul. " Misty shook him but she got no response. " No... " She whispered, and started crying again. She'd never seen anyone die before.

She pulled out her phone and dialed Ash's number again.

" Hey, Ash. " She sniffed loudly.

" Yeah, Misty? Are you ok? Is he ok? " He asked desperately.

" I got to the bottom of the mountain and I've found Paul. " She struggled to hold back the tears.

" And...? "

" He's dead. What do I do? "

In Kanto

Brock and Gary were in Professor Oak's labratory, planning out what they were going to do next. They had realised, due to calling friends, that Moltres was headed their way, possibly Articuno and Zapdos too. Professor Oak had more than enough Pokemon to hold off one or two of them, but if all the showed up... Gary wasn't sure they'd manage.

" Wait a second Gary, I've got a text. "

Brock flipped out his phone and stared at it's screen for a moment.

" What is it Brock? "

" There's going to be a funeral, probably for Ash's mom. Ash is just not sure where to have it. "

" I feel real sorry for Ash. I liked Delia myself. " Gary frowned. " But, we can't have the funeral here if Moltres is going to show up. "

" I'll ring Ash. " Brock dialed and waited.

" Hey Ash... About that funeral for your mom... What? Who?... This is no time for jokes Ash! ... No way... I'm so sorry, I'll tell Gary... Hoenn? Okay, we'll be there. " Brock hung up. His face was twisted like he was going to cry, but he didn't.

" What is it Brock? "

" One of Ash's good Sinnoh friends was killed and they're having a funeral in Hoenn, everyones going, even if they don't know him. " Brock mumbled.

" Oh... Poor Ash. " Gary said in a pathetic ' trying-to-sound-sorry ' tone.

" He sure does have a lot to deal with... " Brock fiddled with his pencil as the conversation suddenly became awkward.

" Well.. so do we. Now about Moltres... " And they continued their work like nothing had happened.

One Week Later in Hoenn

Everyone had gathered in the graveyard of the church as the funeral dragged on. Paul and Delia were buried already and everyone was apologizing to Ash about his loss. He really just wished they'd go away. He didn't want to cry again and it was already hard to fight the tears.

One person that didn't care was Dawn. She'd been crying the whole way through, loudly too. Ash couldn't understand why. Misty could.

May and Misty had been silent the whole way through but they looked upset.

It was at the end of the funeral when everyone gathered and saw each other for the first time in a while. Nobody said anything for a while. Lyra and Cory were here, so Ash knew that they either beat Ho-Oh or it didn't actually go there at all. Dawn was still trying to dry her tears and get over the fact that they were dead. It was mostly Paul she cared about though and she knew that sounded horrible and cruel but it was truth. Dawn had cared for Paul more than she thought she had. She only realised when Misty sent her that picture of her and Paul kissing under the tree. She realised that she loved him. Ash was just a crush, kind of. Sure, she still liked him but only as a friend. Dawn had plans. Plans for confessing to Paul once everything was over. Now she would never get to tell him how she felt and always would feel. Dawn was never really going to get over the fact that he was gone.

" Ash, I'm so sorry.. " Lyra broke the silence.

" It's OK, Lyra. " Ash looked at her and tried to smile. His mother wouldn't of wanted him to be upset like he was, but more happy like he was with May.

" Are you okay, Dawn? " Someone said from behind her. No one saw the figure and Ash didn't recognize the voice. May, however, stood deadly still, frozen on the spot.

" It can't be... Please don't be... " May muttered. Ash heard her and turned to ask her who it was. He didn't get time to because he revealed himself, smiling at Dawn.

It was Drew.

" Uhh.. Yeah. I'm fine. " She blinked a few times as if she couldn't believe he was there. May was standing behind Ash as if there were something he needed to protect her from.

" May, how've you been? " Drew tossed a rose and she caught it. Ash was upset for a moment but he couldn't figure out why.

" I heard about your mom and Paul Ash. I'm real sorry. " Drew sounded sincere, but Ash still didn't like the way he said it. Infact, Ash didn't like Drew at all. He stayed silent and didn't answer. They stared at each other with angry glares for a moment or two.

" What are you doing here? " May spoke softly and held the rose in two hands, making Ash mad, but not really mad.

" I heard about all of this and decided to check on my gorgeous May. " Drew smirked at Ash once he finished his sentence. Ash wanted to step forward and tell him how he really felt but he stopped himself in time.

" Don't start this rubbish Drew. " May threw the rose on the grass. " And leave me alone, I don't want to see you. " She shouted. Everyone else just stared at the scene infront of them like it was a drama movie. " Let's go Ash! " May grabbed Ash by the arm and dragged him off. Ash looked back, just to see Drew's angry face before he turned around to Dawn, and Ash turned to May.

" That was weird. " Lyra spat out, before being pinched hard by Cory and letting out a sharp but quiet ' Ow! '.

" Hey Dawny, can I talk to you in private? " Drew gave Dawn a rose too.

" Yeah, why not. " So she and Drew walked over to one of the benches by the church.

" What did you want to talk about Drew? " Dawn asked as she flopped down lazily on the bench. All the crying had worn her out.

" It's actually about May... " Drew trailed off and looked away.

" What about May? " Dawn hissed out the word May as if it was forbidden.

" How close is she to Ash? " Drew spat out. Dawn was confused as to why Drew would want to know or care. Dawn had to think about her answer for a while but it was pretty obvious.

" They've gone from just met each other, to best friends, to living together. To be honest, I think somethings growing between them. I'm destined to be with Ash, it's hard to explain. I've grown to care less about what he does and I'm happy that he's finally found someone to help him understand about all of...that stuff. Of course, with all the deaths Ash won't have that on his mind right now. " Dawn stopped but Drew looked at her like he was waiting for more, so she continued. " Paul told me that Ash had almost kissed May on the ship but they stopped themselves. I don't think it's love yet, I think it's just a crush or less. I don't expect much to come of it. They're just very good friends now I think. "

" Destined to be together? Oh! The legend, I've heard it. Just like me and May were destined to be together. "

" Wait, what? " Dawn struggled to keep up.

" I'll make you a deal. " Drew smiled almost eerily at Dawn, and the two began talking business...

Dawn almost forgot about Paul.

With Ash and May

May had dragged Ash out of the churchyard and onto the path outside. Ash didn't mind if they left anyway, there was too much pain to feel in there. There was too much pain anywhere. May and Ash were leaving.

They walked in silence for a while, just thinking about everything that had happened.

Ash's phone went off again.

" Are you gonna get that? " May asked him.

" It's just a text. " Ash opened it and read it. I was from Dawn.

**You left before I could tell you something.**

**I'm afraid we'll lose contact again once I go to Sinnoh with Misty, so I wanted to tell you today.**

**Even though it's a bad day for it...**

**Dawn x**

May was thinking about leaning over and peeking at the text but she realised it was rude and decided not to try it. Ash quickly texted a reply. He was eager to know what she needed to tell him.

**You can just tell me via phone if you like.**

**And we won't lose contact, I promise.**

**Ash x**

Ash hesitated before the ' x ' at the end, but he added it because she had. It was just a friendly gesture really.

**Don't laugh at me for this Ash... but...**

**I love you.**

The text didn't say Dawn at the end, as if she'd wanted to get the text away as quick as possible. The text made Ash stop in his tracks for a moment and May to follow suit. Love was such a strong word and Ash had never thought about it before. Did he love Dawn too?

" What's wrong, Ash? " May asked. Ash turned his phone so that May could read the text he had just been sent. It even made her speechless. What she really wanted to know was; Did he love her back?

The phone sounded again. Dawn had sent another text.

**Wouldn't it be nice if we could maybe try being girlfriend and boyfriend? **

**Dawn xxx**

The ' Dawn ' was back at the end of her text now and she had added ' xxx ' at the end instead of one x.

Dawn had said ' try ' and this got Ash thinking. What if he were to say yes and try it. Maybe he did love Dawn and didn't realise it. Ash decided his answer.

**Of course, Dawn.**

**Ash xxx**

It was all Ash could think of. It felt strange to say he wasn't single anymore. It actually felt kind of nice. Of course, none of this erased the pain his mother and Paul's death had caused.

" What's going on? " May asked again and Ash showed her the other text Dawn had sent. May was suddenly full of worry, because she knew he'd answered her. She just didn't know what he'd said. " Did you say yes? " May looked up at him. He just nodded in reply. She wanted to crawl up and cry.

With Dawn and Drew

" He said yes, Drew. " Dawn frowned. She felt bad cheating Ash this way when he had just lost his mother and a good friend. Drew was more than happy though.

" Yes! Now May is definately available! " He cheered. " Thank you Dawn. Have fun with Ash. " Drew winked.

Watching from far away but still able to see what was going on, Dialga smiled happily and returned to it's companions to spread the news.

* * *

><p><strong>And that concludes Chapter 12, the shortie. The next one will definately be longer and...<strong>

**Dawn and Ash are dating!**

**Again; Tell me if you like Third of First person better in these chapters. It's real helpful.**

**Thank you!**


	13. Switches

**Sorry about a slow update again! D:**

**I've had this chapter ready for a while, but my internets been down so I couldn't get it up.**

**I took your advice and wrote a small recap before the story. **

**In reply to your reviews: I know the first few chapters were a bit sketchy, but I was just toying with ideas then, and not really sure how to write the story. And Momo, don't be sorry! :D Your reviews help a lot!**

**Anywhoo, I'm sticking with third person now and the recap thing will probably be on every chapter. And, don't worry, I'm definately carrying on this story until it's finished.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>So far: Our heroes find out about the legend. That the legendaries attack when the last champion finally dies. Ash is chosen as the current champion<strong>

**Pallet Town is attacked by Palkia and Ash's mother dies. The gang sets up a party in each region to stop more casualties.**

**Misty and Paul are attacked by Rayquaza and Paul falls from the mountain.**

**Everyone gathers at a funeral, where Dawn and Drew make an agreement, and Dawn begins dating Ash. Ash and May return to Hoenn.**

* * *

><p><strong>.: Chapter 13 - Switches :. <strong>

" Watch where you're going! " May exploded in Ash's face after a bump in the gym corridor.

" Hey, you're the one that walked into me! " Ash shouted back at her loudly, starting the third argument that day. Max was sick of hearing them screaming now.

" You're always so clumsy! " May whined and crossed her arms.

" Oh yeah? You can talk! " Ash screamed. Max covered his ears and closed his eyes. The argument would turn into a battle over nothing. Soon Ash and May would be slamming their bedroom doors closed. There was one thing Max didn't understand.

Why did May cry all the time?

Things stayed the same for the next few days. Most times Ash and May saw each other, they would argue. Max was starting to notice that it was usually May that started them. He only wished to know why.

The next morning when Max woke, he heard nothing from downstairs. Once he was dressed, he descended the stairs and checked. Ash and May were sitting as far away from each other at the table poking at their breakfasts. Neither were actually eating. May was staring at Ash who was looking down at his bowl miserably. Max went over to sit next to him.

" Hey Ash, hey May. " He looked at the both of them and twirled his fingers awkwardly under the table.

" Hey Max. " Ash looked up at him and attempted to get himself in a smarter position. May just stayed silent and still.

" So.. err... Why have you guys been, like, arguing all the time? " Max asked warily. The two of them eyed each other, waiting for the other to answer.

" Well, it's really all Ash's fault. " May scoffed. Max was not impressed by the way she said it and the facial expression she gave afterwards.

" My fault? Are you serious? " Ash didn't shout. Instead, he looked at her like she was stupid.

" Deadly serious! " May rose and slammed her hands down on the table. " Why don't you go back to precious Dawn! " May whimpered. She was trying to act tough but she was really trying not to cry and Ash could tell. May was going to run away again like she always did. Max hated seeing his sister this upset.

" May, wait! " Ash stood up and chased her lightly back up the stairs. Max could hear him trying to get her to open the door. None of this answered his question. He decided to stop being nosy and get back to training.

Kanto

Gary and Brock were once again working. They were trying to figure out a pattern in the attacks.

" I have it! Listen up Brock! " Gary shifted some papers infront of him and Brock leaned in to listen. " When Jessie died, you said that whatever killed her left a message on the wall saying ' James is next. ' Then James was attacked by Darkrai. That had to mean something! You know what that _could_ mean? " Gary prompted but Brock just sat in awe. " It means that these legendaries may be leaving hints as to who they'll attack next. We should go and check Delia's old house for hints! " Gary said. He was excited that they were finally on some sort of trail. Brock made no argument and followed Gary as he ran out of the lab.

When they reached the ' house ' ( for you could not really call it a house anymore ) Gary checked under some rubble for any items or clues that may help them decipher who was going to be attacked next.

" Gary! Here, quick! " Brock shouted and Gary ran over. There was a small black arrow on the floor pointing towards a pile of rubble and ash. The two boys nodded at each other and began to search it. When Gary suddenly turned over a large peice of wall the size of his leg.

The whole peice was covered in black pen, squished in whatever space it could be. It was just one word repeated over and over again in messy handwriting.

The word was ' Paul. '

Gary and Brock were speechless. Brock felt guilty because he knew if they'd thought quicker, they would of been able to save his life like Dawn had James'. At least now they knew how to find out who was truly next. The only thing they had to do was call Misty to take a trip back to the mountain.

A thundurus crack sounded from the sky and rain splashed down on their faces. A sharp, cold breeze ran by Gary, making his hair stand on end. He wrapped his arms around himself in an attempt to keep away the bitter cold. Brock didn't seem to be as bothered but started off back to the lab all the same. As they walked back to the shelter, all Gary could think of was who was going to be next and if they would be able to save them.

Hoenn

Ash had long since given up on trying to get May to open her door. Now, she lay on her bed staring up at the pale ceiling. Her head rested against the wall and her arm dangled off the side of the bed. She felt something soft on her hand and immediatly realised what it was. Eevee cuddled her hand and jumped up next to her. Eevee had always been the best at comforting, even if she couldn't speak. She had been creeping to and fro a lot since Ash had arrived.

May shuddered at the thought of Ash. She wasn't meaning to upset him like she was, but she could hardly look at him without thinking of _her_. She often sat alone trying to find out why she always felt this way, but she never could get it.

Eevee dissapeared as quickly as she showed up. This time, May sneakily followed her out of the bedroom to see where she had been going every day.

She followed Eevee down the stairs, making sure Eevee was out of sight before moving. Eevee moved as silently as a mouse along the many halls of the gym and outside, where she stopped and pricked up her ears. May drew back slightly, fearing that Eevee had caught her scent or heard her. It was not her that Eevee was listening for, however. May quickly found out why Eevee was dissapearing.

Eevee ran happily along the grass, crying out excitedly. She squeezed her way through the flap to the Greenhouse and dissapeared among the trees and shrubs. May was confused as to what could make Eevee so excited, so she ran along the grass quietly and peered through the grass sneakily.

What she saw shocked her.

Eevee was by the side of one of the biggest trees with Ash's Pikachu. Eevee was nuzzling Pikachu softly as they lay beside the tree, like lovers would.

So Eevee had been going out to see Pikachu. May wondered if Ash knew this yet. He probably didn't.

She darted back into the gym and ran frantically around looking for Ash. She couldn't understand why she wanted him to know so much. However, Ash was nowhere to be found.

" May, what are you doing? " Max asked as May rushed past for the second time.

" Looking for Ash, have you seen him? " May stopped and looked at her little brother.

" Yes, he left half an hour ago without saying a word. He just grabbed his jacket and rushed out of the door. He was on the phone and he seemed worried. He left his Pikachu in my care! I just love Pikachu! " Max began cuddling his book like he was imagining it was a Pikachu. May rolled her eyes promptly and tugged her phone from her pocket while Max walked away. Calling Ash seemed like a bad idea, because the two of them weren't the best of friends at that moment, but May did it anyway.

Ash answered the phone almost immediatly, and she recognized where he was. He was about to speak when she hung up and ran out of the gym to meet him there. He was at the beach just off of Petalburg, so she grabbed her bike and cycled her way down to the junes, where she tied it to a sturdy tree and climbed down to find him.

" Ash? " She called a few times.

When she finally found him, he was still on the phone and writing things down at the same time. It seemed rude to disturb him, but she had already come all this way...

Ash put down the phone and sighed painfully before standing up and noticing his watcher.

" May? " Ash stated the obvious. May thought she saw a smile spread slightly across his face. She buried her toes awkwardly in the soft sand and looked out to sea. The sun was slowly dissapearing and being replaced by the moon, but it's heat remained and kept the beach warm, like T-Shirt and short weather. " Why did you come? " Ash asked May, breaking the silence in which May had been thinking.

" To see what you were up to. I was scared you were leaving the region... " She trailed off and turned to him so he could see the sadness in her eyes.

" Brock and Gary managed to find a way to figure out who they're going to attack next. " Ash ignored her previous statement. " And we think we might know who it is. " May nodded politely. " We think it might be Misty. " He sighed. " And she's paranoid. She's coming here, if that's okay... " Ash continued on and looked at her pleadingly.

" Sure, that's fine. " May smiled. She was about to ask Ash something that was on her chest, before his phone rang again and he answered it.

" Oh, hey Dawn! " Ash said happily. May stuck her shoes back on and left on her bike. Ash didn't notice, and continued his conversation with Dawn.

In Sinnoh

Misty's footsteps were all that could be heard along the streets of Canalave City as the last ferry prepared to leave the port. Dawn would be getting off the ship and she would be getting on. She wanted to get close to Ash as soon as possible. Every moment was frightning for her after what she had found on the mountain where Paul had sadly passed away.

She had always thought of herself as strong. She knew she had strong Pokemon, but she still didn't think she was good enough to protect herself in such life threatening situations. Ash... well, that was different. Though they hadn't been getting on at that time, she had no choice. It would be nice to be with May too.

" Misty! " Dawn waved and ran to her. They didn't know each other well, but Dawn didn't care. " It was nice of you to come and greet me. " Dawn said once she reached her red haired friend.

" Uhh... Well, actually, I've got to get on the ship. Here, " She handed Dawn a peice of paper, " That's my number. Text me when you get back. It's a long story. " Misty smiled sheepishly and said her own goodbyes before running off to catch the ship while Dawn stood watching.

During the long journey to Hoenn, Misty called Dawn, Brock and Ash. She made sure everything was okay. The chance that she would be attacked was lingering. She decided to stay inside, like it would help her hide from her attacker.

When she finally dared to step out onto the deck, she was the only one there. Not many people were on this ferry anyway. It was late to be travelling.

The sun was dissapearing and the moon was high in the sky, shining onto the sea. Everywhere she looked she could just see the sea. It made Misty a bit nervous but she stayed outside nonetheless.

The ferry would take a couple more hours to reach Petalburg City. Just a few more hours, Misty thought, then you'll be safe.

Then Misty walked back to the lounge of the ship to relax for whatever was left of the journey.

Hoenn

The moon shone brightly down onto the faces of Ash and May as they waited patietly for Misty's ship. Neither of the two spoke and all stayed silent.

When Misty's ship did finally arrive, Ash was going to run to her, but soon remembered his fight with her a few days earlier and rejected the idea. Only a few people got off the ship, because many chose to travel at more convenient times rather than eleven-o'clock at night. Her light footsteps approached Ash as he looked down at the ground. He dared himself to look up, and surprisingly found her smiling at him in a pleasant way.

" I'm glad i'm here. " She said in a intelligent and Un-Misty-Like way. Misty had learned to get over her childhood crush for the boy infront of her. She was happy alone and happy to let him get on with his relationship, whether it was Dawn or May. Or neither.

" Nice to see you again, Misty. " Ash muttered in a almost polite manner and smiled back at her. Suddenly, the moon dissapeared behind a cloud and darkness surrounded the three heroes. It made Misty anxious.

" I think we should go back now... "

.

May flopped down once again on her bed. Eevee nuzzled gently at her hand and purred softly like a Glameow. May enjoyed the company of her faithful pokemon, but knew she wouldn't be here for long. It wouldn't be long before it was off to see Pikachu again and wouldn't be back for a while.

She heard Ash and Misty laugh downstairs and buried herself in the sheets to block out all noises, when a thought suddenly crossed her mind.

_I've given up being a co-ordinator for this... It was my own choice... Why?_

May questioned herself. She had been the one to decide to travel with Ash, even though this meant danger and sacrifice. Her life had only spiralled downhill since that decision, but she still didn't regret it.

Why?

Suddenly, her door flung open without a knock or warning. Ash stood there, with a look of slight worry on his face. He noticed she had been crying for a while.

" ... May, are you crying? " Ash let go of the handle and let his hand rest by his side again. He shot a painful look across the room at May. She sat up and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands.

" What do you want? " She asked quite rudely.

Frowning, he answered. " Have you seen Pikachu? "

May almost laughed at his question and looked around for Eevee. As she had expected, Eevee was gone. " I haven't. " She stood up, " But I know where he is. "

" ... Where? " Ash looked puzzled. May began to lead the way to the greenhouse. When they got outside, Ash knew where they were headed and ran off in search for his friend. When he found where it was, he stopped dead on the spot.

" No way... " He murmered. May barely made out what he said. " Pikachu... what? " It seemed he was still as clueless as ever. It was obvious to May, however, as Pikachu and Eevee chased each other around and cuddled together.

" Well, you know what they say, " a voice giggled from behind, " If a trainer falls in love, so do thier pokemon. " Misty chuckled. Ash turned, embarassed, and shot her an angry look.

I'm not in love with Ash, May thought to herself, no way am I... Though that would explain why you followed him.

Don't be so stupid May!

Ash leaned against the door, which swung open immediatly and sent him flying backwards. He landed with a soft thump on the grass and began laughing.

Pikachu and Eevee scurried in a failed attempt to hide what they were doing. They thought their trainers didn't know.

Pikachu ran over excitedly to Misty and jumped in her arms happily. He wasn't really as excited as he pretended to be, but Misty was happy all the same.

" Hey Pikachu, seems you've gotten yourself a girlfriend, hmmm? " Misty joked. Pikachu frowned and looked at his trainer, who was looking back with no real sign of emotion on his face. Eevee was already in the arms of her trainer.

Pikachu jumped back down to the floor and back onto Ash's shoulder before he set off back to the gym. Misty and May stayed by the greenhouse, talking.

" Hey Misty, don't pokemon usually copy their trainers behavior? " May asked. Eevee decided she didn't want to listen to their conversation and ran off after Ash.

" Yeah, I heard you two have been arguing a lot lately. The thing is, pokemon don't ' copy ' it. They.. feel it. They must feel what's truly there. " Misty giggled. May blinked a couple of times.

" But I don't like Ash that way. " May frowned. Misty was about to answer, when the words caught in her throat.

It felt like something was sucking her soul from her body. She choked on her breaths.

" Misty! " May shook her and began to shake herself..

Then Misty's eyes rolled completely backwards and she stopped moving.

Completely.

.

Ash heard it. It filled the room and almost shattered the glass. It brought Ash to his feet, because he knew who had been screaming.

May.

He began to run out to see her, but stopped in his own tracks. He began screaming aswell.

.

May stopped screaming and crying and bent down beside Misty to try and help her. Suddenly, she heard another scream from not far away. Ash's scream. She didn't know what to do. She could save Misty right now, or she could go to Ash and help him.

Misty choked and tried to breathe in. May had no other choice. She bent down and placed her mouth over Misty's and began to breath out.

She didn't have to do it for long before Misty's eyes shot open. She was still ' kissing ' her when she woke, so she wriggled to let May know she was okay. Except, it wasn't a she...

May recoiled and slithered back embarassed. Misty just sat up, her jaw dropped, looking at May.

" I'm sorry Misty, I had to. To save your life. " May apologized, even though she had just saved Misty's life.

" Don't worry about it, it was actually kind of nice. " Misty blushed, except it wasn't Misty's voice. May wasn't paying attention to that.

" Misty, um... what? " May was beginning to notice that Misty's eyes were bright blue now.

" WHAT THE! " Someone screamed from behind. It was Ash, and he didn't look too happy either. " You're me! " He screamed, but it was a girls voice and his eyes were bright blue too. Misty stood up.

" It looks that way. "

" Have you guys... " May started.

" Yes... " Misty in Ash's body said.

" Then I was kissing... "

" Yes. "

" Oh. "

" We need to change back NOW. I feel weird. " Ash shuddered. " how do you keep warm in these shorts? "

" I thought only Manaphy could switch peoples bodies around? " May said thoughtfully.

" I'll call Brock. " Ash said, and reached for his phone. Except, Misty had it, so she flipped it out and called him.

" Hello Ash. Why are your eyes so bright? Woah! " Brock covered his eyes with his hand as if it would help.

" I'm not Ash! " Misty pulled at her, or Ash's, hair. You could hear Misty-Ash shout in the background ' watch out, thats my hair! '

" What? But I can see Ash. " Brock narrowed his eyes and now Gary joined him.

" No you dimwit! " Misty shouted at the phone, " Our bodies have been switched and I want mine back. " She turned the phone so Brock could see Ash in Mistys body, shuddering and looking more than shocked.

" Only Manaphy can do that, you'll have to find it. I heard they love playing tricks. " Brock said, before a loud clatter could be heard and a shelf collapsed and Gary appeared again smiling sheepishly. Brock rolled his eyes, " Gotta go, see ya later. " And he hung up. "

" Right, we have to find Manaphy. " May said, " Let's split up. I'll search the town, Ash, you can search around here and Misty, you go in the town too. " She whispered. The others agreed and set off in their own directions.

Behind a nearby tree, a figure lurked and a smirk appeared on his face.

" Yes, that's right Manaphy. Lure her away from her friends. Then, I'll move in. " He cackled and ran off into the town.

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><p><strong>And that concludes chapter 13! <strong>

**I've decided to put a little sneak peak of what will probably happen on the next chapter:**

**Misty's tears didn't stop there as she struggled in the arms of the stranger. She tried to bite him, kick him and even hit him. It was like he felt no pain...**

**Slowly, the stranger reached up and pulled the hooded cloak off from over his head. Misty stopped hiting him and looked up. Black began to appear in the corner of her eyes as her body threatened to pass out from fatigue and shock.**

**" It can't be you... " She whispered with a high pitched voice. " You're dead. "**

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><p><strong>Please be sure to check out my profile and maybe read the story linked near the bottom? Thank you!<strong>

**Infernape.**


	14. Illusions

**Woo, a new chapter is up, and this is the longest in a while.**

**It seems I left quite a lot of hints as to who the stranger was, and you'll find out if you read on...**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Recap:<p>

So far: Our heroes find out about the legend. That the legendaries attack when the last champion finally dies. Ash is chosen as the current champion.

Pallet Town is attacked by Palkia and Ash's mother dies. The gang sets up a party in each region to stop more casualties.

Misty and Paul are attacked by Rayquaza and Paul falls from the mountain.

Everyone gathers at a funeral, where Dawn and Drew make an agreement, and Dawn begins dating Ash. Ash and May return to Hoenn.

Gary and Brock find out that Misty may be attacked next, so she moves to Hoenn so Ash can protect her.

Manaphy switches Ash and Mistys body, so they go out to find it.

But are they being watched by a mysterious boy?

* * *

><p><strong>.: Chapter 14 - Illusions :.<strong>

Misty sighed for the tenth time that minute as she dragged her sore feet along the pavement. Ash had more energy than she would of had, but she still felt tired. She had been looking for Manaphy for what seemed like hours, and she had found nothing. She wasn't even sure where she was anymore. A large fountain stood in the middle of a square, surrounded by closed shops. Misty allowed herself to stop by the fountain and splash some water in her face.

Misty felt Ash's phone buzz in her pocket and she reached impatiently for it and answered it with a grumpy tone.

" Misty or Ash? " Brock laughed.

" Misty. What do you want? " She snapped.

" Just checking up on you, are you okay? "

" Yeh, why wouldn't I be? " Misty questioned, giving him a sly look. Suddenly, she felt icy cold breaths against the back of her neck. She froze. Her eyes widened as she stood still. A surprisingly warm arm wrapped around her and pulled her back, causing her to scream. The stranger placed a hand over her mouth to stop her from making a noise.

The stranger flipped her around so she could see who he was. The figure was cloaked and had a mask covering their whole face.

" What do you want from me? " Misty whimpered. The cloaked figure grabbed her by the neck and slammed her against the wall, making her feel faint and weak.

She tried to bite him, kick him and even punch him. It was like he felt nothing at all. Misty realised she had dropped the phone a few feet away. She cursed silently under her breath and tried to struggle free once more.

" Stop moving, brat! " The stranger hissed. Misty recognised the voice...

Then her heart stopped and her breath faultered. It sounded so much like _him _that it hurt. Tears stung her eyes and made her vision blurry.

" W-who.. are yo-you? " She stammered. For a moment, the person laughed at her.

Slowly, he raised a hand and pulled the cloak back over his head, to reveal who he was.

" Hello, Misty. " The figure grinned. " Miss me? " It slithered, planting a teasing kiss on her neck. She wanted to move, but she couldn't. Black appeared at the corners of her eyes and threatened to make her faint.

" It can't be you... " She pushed him away, " You're dead! " Misty looked once more at the person standing infront of her, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

Paul.

" Who said that? " He smiled, making Misty more confused. She wasn't sure whether to be happy, sad ... or scared.

Paul moved closer to her, making her recoil. He began kissing her on the neck like he had before. She couldn't help but enjoy it slightly - until he bit down. His teeth tore through a peice of her neck skin and she screamed out in agony. She decided what she was supposed to feel now and began to run away, tears falling from the pain and fright.

She passed no one, only tall grey buildings as she went deeper into the main part of Petalburg. She needed somewhere to hide from him, somewhere he wouldn't notice.

A stack of boxes lay near a door down a dark alley. Misty crawled inside and closed the lid over her head. She heard his footsteps draw closer and the red head held her breath. The footsteps stopped for a moment. _Please, keep walking. Keep walking! _

Paul ran off, snarling and Misty let out a cry of relief, but did not emerge from the box yet.

.

Misty suddenly ran out into a square that looked similar to the one she was in before. The footsteps came again and she prepared to hide. She dashed behind a large bin and watched, but it was not Paul that emerged. It was May.

She stepped out and ran over to May, who looked sick and frustrated.

" Hm? Oh, hey Misty! " May smiled, but as Misty/Ash got closer, she noticed she was not as happy. " Hey, what's wrong? "

" I'm being chased, he's going to kill me! " She cried on May's shoulder. May blushed slightly because Misty was in Ashs body.

" Who's going to kill you? Are you feeling okay? " May thought she was imagining it.

" Paul! " Misty cried out again. She was actually scared.

Everything was silent.

" I think you need some sleep. I can take you back. " May sighed. _I'm worried about her, I hope sleep makes her better. _

" No, no, no! He'll just get me there. Where do I go? " She panicked. May gasped slightly at her attitude and began to ring Ash.

She never got time.

" He's here. " Misty whispered. May looked at her like she was crazy. Misty grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into an alley. May began to object, but Misty covered her mouth.

May was beginning to get scared that Misty was going to attack her, or worse.

Then he came. May's heart stopped and dropped to the floor. The boy looked so much like Paul it couldn't be a coincidence.

He looked over and May hugged Misty. They were sitting on the alley floor behind a trashcan. May had her head on Misty/Ash's chest and curled up close. Misty slowly got the courage to put her arms around May and pull her closer, so that Paul couldn't see her feet. May thought she felt Misty stop breathing for a moment.

" May? " She whispered. May looked up. Her eyes weren't blue anymore. _Strange... _

Paul was gone. May breathed out but stayed close.

Misty was blushing bright red and May realised what had happened. She quickly moved off and stepped away. " Sorry. "

" That's okay. " Ash stood up and brushed himself off. It felt good to be in his own body again. " What's going on? "

" Call me crazy but, Paul is trying to kill Misty. "

" Paul is dead, May. " Ash frowned.

" Exactly! Someone that is the spitting image of him is chasing Misty, he looks... evil.. scary. " May shuddered. She crept along to the end of the alley and looked out to the square. There was no one. She and Ash finally split up again.

She didn't get far.

She turned just one corner away from Ash, when he came back around the corner.

" Ash? What's up? " She asked. He pushed her up against the wall and clamped his hand around her neck. She was more upset than scared. She was crying.

" Ash, what are you doing? Let go of me. " She choked out. He never let go.

" Sorry, Ash isn't home. " The figure hissed. May knew it wasn't Ash.

" Who are you? " May demanded.

" That doesn't matter. The only thing you need to know is that I can take the shape of anyone. You will never know if it's your precious Ash or I. " He laughed, " I was originally going to go for the red haired one, but you're just as good. Maybe I can even have some fun with the boy... "

May hit the poser in the face with force. " Don't you dare. " She hissed. ' Ash ' laughed. He leaned in closer so May could feel his breath on her face. It sent shivers down her spine.

" You love him, don't you? " He breathed. May didn't move or speak. 'Ash' crashed his lips upon hers, catching her off guard. No matter how much she tried, she could not pull away. Eventually, she gave in but didn't kiss back.

She heard footsteps, she knew it was Ash. She opened her eyes, still kissing the stranger, and looked at the corner. She heard Ash call her name and prayed for him to find her.

Suddenly, infront of her, 'Ash' change. She gasped and managed to pull away as it changed.

Into Drew.

Then he forced her to kiss again, and bit her on the gum, she felt herself beginning to faint. Then Ash came around the corner. He saw May kissing Drew, and not fighting back. He didn't know why, but he felt his heart drop and tears come to his eyes as he continued to watch. His heart tore in two, he turned to run away.

" Ash! " May found the energy to scream. 'Drew' snarled and turned to where Ash re-appeared. May looked at Ash before passing out on the pavement. 'Drew' picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. Something about the shapeshifter was not right.

Ash felt his strength return and began running after what he thought was Drew. He chased him down streets, through parks and across a river until they reached the start of an everlong forest. The trees stretched out before them. Nothing moved in the stillness of the night.

" Ash Ketchum. " 'Drew' laughed. Ash was about to release all his rage and anger, when Drew shapeshifted once more. Now, he looked exactly like May, except his eyes were cold and black. Ash gaped at the person infront of him.

It lifted its arms up, holding May in them, and Ash stepped forward to stop him.

" Take one more step, and I'll kill the girl. " It hissed in a low, rumbling voice. Ash stopped. " I thought so. " He lowered May but kept a hold of her. " You know what happens when you let people get close to you. Your girlfriend may have managed to save James, but he wasn't that important anyway. " It lifted May up again and cackled. " ...But can you save her? "

May's imposter threw May to the ground. Ash ran forward, but IT stepped infront of him, and began to change again.

This time, it did not change into a person.

It changed into a pokemon.

Standing infront of him now, was a fox like pokemon, standing on two legs. Long, red claws reached towards Ash and it's menacing blue eyes showed hunger and anger. It had hair, like a mane that spiked up and ran along it's furry back, tied up pathetically at the back with a blue bead. The tip was blood red, matching much of it's other hair and it's claws.

Ash had seen this before.

This was Zoroark.

It towered over Ash slightly, but he did not move. He stood perfectly still, not afraid.

" Zoroark. " Ash breathed.

" Oh, you humans are so slow. " It laughed.

" You're not a legendary pokemon, are you? "

" I don't need to be. " It turned to May, " I can do whatever I like. It makes their job easier too. "

" And what if I stop you? " Ash smirked. Zoroark roared and jumped back.

" You cannot beat me. You are too weak. " It cackled, wanting a battle.

" Monferno, I choose you! " Ash called forth one of his pokemon. A grin spread across Zoroark's face. " Use flamethrower! " Monferno launched flames towards the fox pokemon, but it easily dodged. It landed silently and closed it's eyes, laughing. That was a bad move.

Monferno landed a powerful flame wheel straight on Zoroark's stomach, sending it straight into the trunk of a nearby tree. As powerful as it was, the battle was far from over.

Somewhere between the beginning and the end of the battle, May regained conciousness.

" Monferno, get up! " Ash pleaded. Zoroark grunted and panted at the other side of the clearing, but still managed to stifle a laugh.

A bright white light suddenly blinded Ash. He covered his eyes until he knew it was gone. When he looked up, Zoroark was still there, but Monferno wasn't.

Stood in it's place, was Infernape.

" Flame wheel! " Ash shouted and smiled. His newly evolved Infernape glowed with power and health, and shot towards Zoroark. It tried to dodge, but Infernape was too fast. Ash had won.

Or so he thought.

" I think you're forgetting something. " It weezed. Ash's face flashed with realization. He ran towards her, but she was weak and couldn't do anything against the barely standing pokemon.

Ash threw a pokeball, but before Zoroark dissapeared, it threw May over the side of the cliff edge. He ran to catch her but her screaming faded.

Words could not describe how Ash felt.

He fell to his knees.

He looked over the side of the edge, tears dropping down and splashing off the bottom.

" Ash! " He heard someone scream. He looked over at the person down below. It was...

Drew?

Drew had saved May.

_Bing_

Zoroark was caught.

Misty was happy she was back in her body, but scared because she was alone now. Ash had been searching the park when they had switched back.

_Bring Bring!_

Misty answered the phone, grateful for the call.

" Misty, you don't need to worry. " Ash's face appeared, red. Had he been crying? " It wasn't Paul, it was Zoroark. I caught it. "

Misty sighed with relief and began a conversation with Ash, pretending she hadn't been scared at all.

She stopped for a moment. Something was behind her, watching her. She whirled around, but nothing was there. The exact same thing happened again. Something was definately behind her. She looked at the phone. The screen was black. Something was getting closer.

She spun once more, ready to scream out loud.

She was silenced instead. Her heart skipped a beat and her eyes widened as a lump caught in thorat. She couldn't move.

She and May were wrong.

.

Ash had climbed down to join Drew.

The two didn't get along, as usual. Drew fought Ash and blamed him for May's fall, but it wasn't Ash's fault at all.

Drew insisted on carrying May back to the gym. Ash wanted to do this himself, but the green haired boy would not let him.

Until May woke up.

Ash and Drew had been walking side by side, not talking. Ash was tempted to ask him why he had been there anyway, but didn't want to talk to him.

They heard a grunting noise and turned straight to May. Her eyelashes batted slightly and she slowly opened her eyes. She just lay for a moment, trying to figure out where she was. When she did finally get her vision fully back, she screamed as loud as she could. The only thing she had seen was Drew.

" Woah May, calm down! " Drew shouted as she kicked at him and managed to wriggle out of his arms. Drew couldn't make her calm down. She only calmed down when she saw Ash.

" Don't... " May started with a weak voice, pointing at Drew, " Don't touch me. " She growled at him. She tried to stand, but collapsed back in a heap on the floor. She allowed Ash to support her while she spoke to him.

" What are you talking about May? I was carrying you back to your gym! " Drew said innocently.

" Ash could of carried me. " She spat. For a moment, she thought she saw pain flicker cross his face, but it dissapeared quickly.

" Don't you trust me, May? "

May raised an eyebrow at him and didn't answer. " I don't get what I've done wrong! " He threw his arms up and shouted. Then he lowered his arms and smirked at May. " It was almost as if you were jealous of Dawn. "

" Drew... " Ash growled warningly. Drew ignored him.

" You're so stuck up. " He crossed his arms.

" And you're a jerk! " May exploded and tried to get up again, but fell back to her knees, snarling.

" Whatever. We need to get back. " Drew smirked, " How are you going to get back without me carrying you back? "

May was about to speak, when Ash picked her up bridal style. May stared up at Ash like he was crazy, but wasn't about to complain. This was what she wanted.

They hadn't gotten far when they were hit with more surprise.

Drew and Ash weren't speaking, and May had fallen asleep in Ash's arms.

Suddenly, they heard frantic footsteps approach them, and Misty appeared, panting. Ash wasn't surprised to see Misty.

" Hey Misty. " He greeted.

" We were... wrong... Ash. " She said inbetween breaths, " It's - " Misty began, when more footsteps could be heard. The gang looked over at the approaching figure. When Ash could finally make out who it was, he found it hard to breathe.

" Would you please slow down? " It was Jessie, torn and looking weaker than ever.

" Jessie, what the heck? " Ash found himself muttering.

" Where's James? " She demanded, suddenly looking stronger.

" Uh... I don't know. " Ash was surprised by Jessie's sudden re-appearance, but it didn't bother him that much.

Ash had taken May back to the gym, along with Misty, Drew and Jessie. When they arrived, he settled her in her bed so that she could build up some energy. Misty and Drew occupied themselves by watching TV and Jessie eventually joined them, having nothing better to do.

Just an hour after they came back, May appeared by the stairs, rubbing her eyes and yawning.

" Sorry I fell asleep on you Ash. " She smiled.

" Don't worry about it. " He smiled back sheepishly.

Misty suddenly got up and ran to the kitchen for a drink. Jessie followed her, so Ash did too. He somehow didn't trust her.

May was alone with Drew watching TV for just a few seconds.

" May? " A familiar voice came from the opening door. Before she could look, she felt arms wrap around her for a quick hug. When the person drew back, she could see it was her mother. Although she was pleased to see her mother, she was enjoying the peace with her friends.

When she looked up, her Dad was there too, carrying shopping bags and looking more than annoyed.

" Mom? Where have you been? "

" On vacation, honey. We told you we were going. I thought you were going to Sinnoh? " Her mother said. A sudden pained memory of meeting Paul came to her, then the memory of hearing about Ash being trapped. But, back then she had no idea who he was. It was funny that now he was staying at her house and they were like best friends.

" Oh... It's a long story. "

Her mom was about to answer, when Ash appeared at the door. He stopped when he spotted the new face sitting beside May. They stared at each other for what seemed like hours, when the stranger turned to May and asked, " Who's this? "

" Oh, sorry. " May stood up and took Ash's hand, dragging him towards her mom. " Mom, this is Ash, Ash, this is my mom. " May said reluctantly. She bit her lip, hoping her mother wouldn't get the wrong idea.

The two shook hands and her mother beamed. Ash just looked surprised.

" Nice to meet you, _Ash. _" Her mother suddenly turned to Drew, whom she hadn't noticed. " Oh! Drew's here too, honey. Did you two make up? " Mom sounded as if she wanted them to make up. May violently shook her head and frowned.

That was when Misty and Jessie also came back into the room.

" Mom, this is Misty and Jessie. " She said before anyone had time to gawk. " Guys, this is my mother. "

Misty and Jessie also shook hands with Mom.

" Seems like you've made a lot of new friends. " The lady smiled down at her daughter, while her father put away shopping and carried shoes upstairs.

" I sure have. " May looked at Ash, who turned and looked back at her. She blushed, and her mom saw. She smirked.

" May dear, I didn't know you were bringing home friends. Try giving me warning next time, I could've made something nice for them. "

May was about to argue, because she hadn't seen her mom since she left for Sinnoh, but her mother stood up and left the room.

Ash called Misty from her seat and they began private-talking upstairs. Jessie chewed popcorn loudly as they watched a contest on the television. She occasionally shouted curses or praises for the co-ordinators.

" You call that a performance? Get some glasses! " She screamed at the TV. May sighed and Drew told her to shut up, again.

Ash and Misty reappeared. Misty sat next to May and Ash sat next to Misty.

" Expect the unexpected. " Misty whispered in Mays ear, making her shudder from her breath on her cheek. May was about to ask what she meant, but Misty left the room again.

Ash didn't sit for long. He stood up. It was getting boring, so May stood up aswell.

She grabbed Ash's arm as he began to walk away, making him look back at her, confused. She let go, startled. _What just happened? _

" May? " Ash pulled his arm back, looking worried.

" I'm fine. Sorry. " I whispered and ran upstairs away from everyone.

Longing made her stomach twist painfully. She was just centimetres away from him, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She couldn't find the courage.

Meanwhile, Ash slumped down on his own bed. Misty sat on the edge, frowning.

" You're so stupid. " Misty grumbled. Ash looked up at her, puzzled. Misty raised an eyebrow.

" What are you doing? " She questioned as Ash pulled out his phone ( Which Misty had retrieved for him. ).

He looked up at her, more serious than ever. It almost made her back away. " Texting Dawn. " He answered. Misty was struck with sudden realisation.

" Are you... ? " Misty breathed.

" Yes. "

Misty grinned like a cheshire cat from ear to ear. " Someones got it baddd. " She laughed. Ash shot her a look of anger and turned back to his phone.

" I have to ring her, can you come back soon? " He muttered, not looking up from his phone.

Misty got up and opened the door. " You're still just a kid, though. " She said as she shut the door behind her and ran for May's room.

" Mayyyy. " She sang in a singsong voice. When no one responded, she opened the door. She was greeted by a pillow to the face.

" Ouch. " Misty picked up the pillow and threw it back, giggling. May and Misty had become good friends over the past few weeks.

May laughed too, but she was still upset. " What do you want? " She asked politely.

" Guess who Ash is breaking up with right now? "

Misty swore she saw May's eyes sparkle as her head jerked up, almost happily. " He's breaking up with Dawn? " She tried to hide the excitement in her voice. Now, when the time was right, she could tell him how she felt.

That's right, May had discovered what all the things she felt for Ash were. This was not a crush like the one she had on Drew. This was _love_. She had finally found her prince charming. The fluttering butterflies and racing heart she got when she saw him, that was no crush. He made her so _nervous_ and she only wished she could melt into him and embrace him.

But she couldn't.

" Why? " She finally answered, feeling a bit down.

" Expect the unexpected. " Misty laughed, and glided out the room. May cursed at Misty's riddles. What was that supposed to mean? She seemed so happy. Maybe she was going to try and get Ash...

" May! " Ash appeared suddenly at the door, his eyes wide with fear. He ran to her and took her hand, causing her stomach to flip. " We need to get out, now! " He pulled her out of her room.

" What's going on? " May screamed as they burst out into the mid-day sunshine. Above them, a giant loomed, snarling. Ash pulled her away as what seemed like a hyper beam struck the floor. The giant pokemon glided around the corner. Ash pushed May behind him and spread out his arms.

" Stupid boy. " It hissed. " I did not come for her. "

* * *

><p><strong>Like last time, here's a sneak peak of what MIGHT happen next time;<strong>

**Dodging the flying attacks, he ran frantically. Next to him, Brock jumped over a fallen tree log.**

**" Where are you taking her? " Ash demanded angrily.**

**" To your father. "**

**Ash stopped, allowing the monster to get ahead. Memories of James telling him about his father flooded back to him... _No, he's not my father. He never will be. _**

**But he was, and he was going to kill her.**

* * *

><p><strong>I'll try to write as much as I can and as quick as I can, expect updates possibly WednesdayThursday next week?**

**Until next time,**

**Infernape.**


	15. Giratina and Dialga

**Woop, a quick update, because I was so eager to write this**

**WARNING: Super cheesy scene ahead, that was embarassing to write, knowing you guys were gonna read it. Please forgive me for making it suck so much! D:**

**Anywho, here's the summary so far;**

So far: Our heroes find out about the legend. That the legendaries attack when the last champion finally dies. Ash is chosen as the current champion.

Pallet Town is attacked by Palkia and Ash's mother dies. The gang sets up a party in each region to stop more casualties.

Misty and Paul are attacked by Rayquaza and Paul falls from the mountain.

Everyone gathers at a funeral, where Dawn and Drew make an agreement, and Dawn begins dating Ash. Ash and May return to Hoenn.

Gary and Brock find out that Misty may be attacked next, so she moves to Hoenn so Ash can protect her.

Manaphy switches Ash and Mistys body, so they go out to find it.

They find out that Zoroark had taken the shape of Paul, Drew and Ash. Misty and Ash switch back and Ash catches Zoroark while Drew saves May. Later on, Ash breaks up with Dawn and Giratina begins to attack the Petalburg gym.

* * *

><p><strong>.: Chapter 14 - Dialga and Giratina :.<strong>

Dawn rolled over in her bed once again. The twang of guilt wouldn't go away in her heart, no matter how hard she tried. Ash had broken up with her, she should of been feeling sad, upset or even heartbroken.

She felt nothing.

Ash had probably broke up with her because she wasn't giving him enough. Sure, she called him and texted him, but she never showed any emotion. She never said _I love you. _Maybe if she had, he wouldn't of broke up with her. Maybe he would of told her he loved her too, but that would make things worse, because she would of been lying. She felt nothing anymore.

_I guess that's what happens when you find someone you truly love._

Then her thoughts turned to Drew. He was going to be angry at her, but what could she do? It was Ashs choice, not hers. But there was something there. Maybe it was just sparking, but it was getting stronger. A feeling they may have shared as they sat alone at the funeral.

. . .

May stopped breathing for one moment that seemed to last an eternity. Time slowed down. Part of her was sighing with relief, for it was not her the pokemon was after, but part of her was worried. What if it were after Ash himself? Maybe that time had come already.

" What do you want, Giratina? " He pushed her slightly further behind him, despite what Giratina had said. May was grateful for his protection, but wasn't sure she needed it.

Giratina let out a mighty roar, making Ash nearly stumble back upon a sheltering May. It towered over Ash for a moment, but faltered and glided away, screeching. Ash immediatly grabbed her hand and followed Giratina back to the front door of the gym. At first, it seemed to be looking for a way inside. Then it just knocked down one of the walls with its tail. May screamed at the crumbling wall. A cold tear slid down her cheek and fell onto Ash's hand.

Inside the gym, people scattered. A challenger that had been battling her dad ran out for his life. Jessie fled into the greenhouse, knowing she couldn't cheat death again.

Drew looked for May as soon as he knew something was wrong. His eyes finally met hers. He looked down at her hand, which was holding Ash's, and she saw the pain cover his face once more, before dissapearing again, replaced with fear.

Misty acted too late.

The giant pokemon zoomed forward with new found speed and grabbed her with it's claws. They dug deep into her leg, drawing blood from a large gaping wound just forming. With a swish, it turned around and fled towards the sea.

. . .

Angie sank deeper into the seats of the wagon. She looked over at her companion, Shinx. It was trying to keep calm, but was turning green instead.

Anabel was a great driver, but the roads here were far from smooth.

Angie had only left her home four days ago, deciding to go travelling to become the worlds greatest trainer. Her first destination was Hoenn, where she'd met ex-Battle Frontier Anabel, who was on her own journey to get stronger, after she was beaten by a boy her age a few years back. Angie wondered why she would go on a journey after one loss. Angie lost battles all the time.

" Hey Angie, we're getting close to Petalburg. " Anabel said cheerfully, and closed her eyes for a moment, making the car sway a little.

" Wonderful. " Angie said, covering her mouth. Shinx copied her actions.

" I'm so excited. " Anabel sighed. Did she just blush?

" Uhh... Anabel, what's so special about Petalburg? "

" Oh, someone I know is there. He's probably forgotten me though. " She frowned.

" Ohh, so you've got the hots for a Hoenn boy. " Angie giggled.

" Actually I met him at the Battle Frontier, he was the boy that beat me and the reason I'm on my journey now. "

" Oh, can't wait to meet him then. " Angie looked out of the window. The beach followed them on their left. It was noon, and she should've been hungry. So much for that.

" Angie, look! " Anabel slowed her car right down, peering out of the front window, her eyes suddenly got huge. " Is that Giratina? " She breathed.

Angie followed her gaze, and found she was right. Giratina was heading right for the beach not even a mile ahead of them. It was high up, almost as high as a plane. But there was something else that she could see. She squinted, narrowing her eyes as much as she could.

Then she was struck with realisation and fear.

" Anabel, it has a girl, look! " She cried out. " We have to do something! " Angie screamed as Giratinas grip on the girl loosened.

Anabels and Angies stomachs did flips as the car sped up, racing forward at a pathetic attempt to catch up. They would almost definately not reach her in time.

Something exploded from the shrubs, making Anabel press down on her brakes, almost hitting it with a car.

The person zoomed past and Anabel stopped the car completely.

Angie opened the door and ran out. She was hardly breathing, her heart was racing. There was no doubt, it was him.

Ash Ketchum.

For a moment, Angie forgot about the girl and focused on what had changed about him. He had grown far, far more attractive.

_Wait, is he running to help that girl? _

With a slight shake of her head, she ran off after him, as fast as her legs could take her.

She didn't remember much of the next few minutes, as she fell down a mud slide, left half-concious.

" You'll never catch her! " She heard one person say. A girl, but not Anabel.

" I'm so sorry, Ash. " Another girl says. This voice sounds sad.

" What? " That was Ash's voice. Angie tried desperately to get her vision back, but it got even more blurred. She just caught the last sentence before she drifted away;

" She's probably already dead. "

. . .

Misty regained her vision slightly, struggling to breathe. Why was it so hard to breathe?

_Great, I'm still unconcious. _Misty grumbled, when she saw the clouds flying in her face. But then she looked up. Giratina was carrying her by her arms, a claw mark bled on her leg, making her feel faint again.

She screamed out.

It was a bad move, Giratina dropped her.

Then all she remembered was falling, the air being knocked out of her. Trying desperately to breathe, and falling away into darkness once more._ This is it. I'm dead._

Anabel cried out, finally realising who the falling girl was. It was definately the Cerulean City gym leader, Misty Waterflower. Although they had never met, Anabel respected Misty, after watching her interviews on television. One of her older ones stated she had been on a journey of her own with friends.

This was all coming together.

" Ash! You'll never make it! You might even fall yourself! " Someone cried. Anabel noticed a brunette girl dressed all in red, her bandana slipping off of her head. She was holding Ash's arm, and on the brink of tears.

" Let go, May. I'll be fine. " She let go of him, and he jumped onto a giant bird, a Staraptor. Was he going to try and catch Misty?

Anabel ran down to join the green haired boy, the brunette who was worried sick and a lady with strange pink hair, wearing a Team Rocket uniform. She was strangely familiar. She didn't look worried, but did look a bit shocked.

" Who are you? " The brunette girl approached Anabel timidly. She looked a mess, with her bandana half off her head and her eyes wet with tears. She realised Anabel was looking and fixed her bandana and dried her tears with the back of her hands.

" I'm Anabel, ex-brain of the Kanto Battle Frontier. " She was about to offer my hand, when she remembered they had more things to worry about than meet and greet. May turned to see Ash with Misty in his arms, struggling to keep her as Staraptor swayed with the weight on its back.

" Don't you dare. " Anabel heard May hiss sadly.

" Calm down, May. He's fine. " The green haired boy smirked.

As if on queue, Staraptor tossed sideways and Ash fell.

Misty fell unconcious next to him. May stood still for a split second, panic stricken. She ran forward, her bandana fell from her head and floated away. Anabel tried to catch it, but the wind lifted it high and in towards Petalburg.

May did the impossible. She stood waiting for him, her face determined. She was going to do this.

Ash plummeted down, straight into her arms, making her knees buckle, she fell to the floor. Anabel couldn't believe she had caught him like that.

_Thump!_

They all looked over at the grass behind her. Misty lay, blood drooling from her mouth, her arm bent the wrong way, her leg twisted. Anabel had to look away before she threw up or cried at the sight. Drew frowned sadly and tried not to cry himself. Jessie was still looking shocked but, with shaky hands, managed to call an ambulance. May stayed in the same position, crying with sadness for Misty and joy for Ash. It made no sense, really.

Then Ash woke up. He took one look at May struggling to hold him like she was and he got up, like nothing had happened.

" The ambulance is here. " Drew announced.

" What ambulance? May? " May turned to a statue and lifted one finger towards the mangled red head on the floor.

Ash didn't even need to look to know what it was. He froze in shock when he saw her. He felt like he'd just recieved a kick in his stomach as it wrenched around. When they carried her away in the stretcher, asking Jessie what happened, Ash just stood there.

" Ash, " May began softly, placing her hand on his shoulder, " Lets go, she'll want you there. " Ash turned and nodded, only now just noticing the car parked on the road and the girl with long, flowing purple hair helping up an unseen person.

" Hurry, Ash. I'll take you. " She said, pushing him into the car with May and zooming off after the ambulance.

" Who- " Ash questioned, studying the muddy girl that was brushing herself off.

" Ash, it's me, Anabel. "

" Anabel? What happened to your hair? "

" I grew it. " She shook it proudly. It now reached down to her waist. It suited her, no doubt.

" You have no idea how pleased I am to see you. " He frowned, looking at the floor. He bit his lip to stop himself from crying.

" Do you know Misty, Ash? " Anabel asked. Ash didn't answer. May was worried, Ash was upset and she was in a car with a stranger and a muddy girl sleeping.

They finally reached the hospital. Ash was still, not talking to anyone. May put her hand on top of his and squeezed it for reassurance.

" Pikapi! " Pikachu ran through the door with Eevee. Pikachu jumped on Ash, smuthering him with a hug. He still didn't smile, though.

" Pikachu, Eevee, why don't we go for a walk? " Anabel smiled. She nodded to May and left with Pikachu on her shoulder, confused as to why it was being taken away.

" Jessie? " A nurse stalked up to us sadly and slowly. May knew something was wrong.

" No, we're... friends of Jessies. " May said.

" ... I have some bad news for you. " She sniffed.

Ashs heart tore in two before she even said it. This was like an ice punch to the chest, but worse. The worst pain he'd ever felt. He ran from the room. His footsteps echoed around the room. This was the way he let his problems go away.

" I'm so sorry. "

. . .

" Brock? " May asked, when he answered but the room was empty. Suddenly, Gary jumped out and smiled.

" Hey pretty girl, what did you want? " May frowned.

" I need to talk to Brock. "

" BROCCCK! " Gary exploded, " PHONE! " He rolled his eyes and slumped away. A moment later, Brock appeared.

" Sit down. " She commanded. Brock could tell she had been crying.

" May, what's wrong? "

In the quietest voice she could manage, she squeaked " Giratina killed Misty. " Her bottom lip trembled.

Brock was still for a few moments, then spoke sadly, " Where's Ash? "

" He won't speak to me, he blames himself. "

" Try again. Let him know you're there for him. "

May hesitated for a moment. " What did you mean by that? "

" Have a think about it. " He said, before he hung up on her, about to cry, himself.

. . .

Ash usually went to Misty for advice about almost everything. Now he couldn't, and even though he could ask Brock, it wasn't the same. He decided not to talk to himself, because that could make you crazy. Plus, you can't answer your own questions without the answers. Pikachu ' chuu-ed ' lightly on his shoulder and left Ash by himself, sensing something behind it and wanting to see Eevee

" Ash, " May spoke quietly from behind. Ash didn't turn around, he knew who it was. He had forced her away before, only because he didn't want her to see him weak like he was. He was better now, so he let her sit next to him in the sand.

" You feeling better yet? " May stretched, " 'Cause I really want you to know... I'm there for you, if you need me. " She spat out and blushed slightly, almost embarassed infront of her _Prince Charming._ Although, that was a childish joke. This was real.

" Thanks May, but you help me enough already. " He smiled.

_What does that mean? Does is mean that I've been comforting, or something else?_

" Too much, actually. " He stood and began to walk away, but May wasn't going to let him, not this time.

" Ash, what does that mean? "

" It means that I'm starting to... care for you more, it's dangerous. You know what that means. " May let the words sink in. _He cares for me! Even if he means just good friends care, I know he cares. _She smiled at him.

" I don't care. " She said roughly.

" Well I do. " Ash snapped back.

" I don't care if you do. I'm not leaving now, I'm happy. " Argued May back. A small peice of rage built up inside her, because he was trying to push her away.

" Just leave May, go away! " He shouted, blinking back small tears angrily.

" Don't you dare do this again, Ash. " May warned, then her voice quietened down and she mumbled, " Not when we're so close again. "

( A/N : Very bad cheesy scene ahead that sucks! )

" Close to what? " Ash asked finally.

" Close to this - " May said, and giggled like a small child before running off through the sand, and collapsing down on the sand, pulling Ash with her. They looked in awe at the beautiful red sky, the sunset and the stars. The last of the suns heat beat down on them, leaving them breathless at the beautiful scene. For the first time in a while, a smile crept up on Ash's face.

May turned her attention back on Ash, on how happy he was now, and how handsome he looked to her. She liked how his hair spiked up messily and fell over his face as he continued to stare at the stars. His hazel eyes and tanned arms.

Suddenly, she realised he was looking back at her. This was the first time they had held each others gaze for this long without one of them breaking it by looking away. This was also the first time May was noticing these things about Ash. She saw him differently now. Suddenly, she felt desire, like a fire raging in her stomach. Unable to look away, her heart began thudding faster against her chest and her throat went dry. Uncontrollable desire threatening to control her.

Ash stood up, quickly, as if something had startled him. He reached out a hand to pull May up. At first, she innocently took his hand. The softness of it brought back the desire and the fire. She remembered how the kiss with Zoroark had felt. Even though it wasn't really Ash, she had felt something. Her head spun at her idea. Her totally mad idea. As he finally brought her to her feet, she wrapped her arms around his neck before he could pull away. Her eyes studied his shocked expression for just a moment, his mouth didn't open. Not able to wait any longer, she covered his mouth with hers, and let their lips lock together. His lips were softer than she had imagined, so she let herself kiss passionately for a while, before her eyes opened in surprise as Ash pushed his tongue softly into her mouth. She moaned very slightly and allowed her own tongue to explore his mouth. Ash's arms were around her waist, keeping her close to her, while one of Mays hands ran through his hair. This was better than the kiss from Paul, the small kiss from Drew, better than anything, and for once, May wasn't afraid of love anymore.

Ash pulled away first, but kept his arms around her. His breath caressing her face.

" I'm sorry, Ash. " May stepped back and shook her head, " I shouldn't have done that, when you're supposed to be with Dawn. " She apologised.

" Let's forget about Dawn for a while. " He smiled. May was surprised at his new attitude. She didn't know, that the sudden realisation had happened to him too. Yes, Ash finally understood what they meant when they said pokemon were in love. When they said people were in love...

" I need to tell you something Ash. "

" Me too. " He blushed. " You first. "

" Well... you have no idea how long i've been trying to get the courage and think of the right words, just to tell you this. " She sighed. " Because there really are no words for how I feel right now. When I travelled with Drew, I always joked that I was going to find my Prince Charming, and he was going to be perfect. I never understood love then though, and well... When I met you, I stopped looking. When we argued, it tore me apart. When I see you now, it makes me nervous, my heart beats faster, my stomach twists. I guess what I'm trying to say, Ash, is.. " She took a deep breath and tried to rid herself of the nervousness.

" I love you, more than anyone else. " She pulled him close again to feel his warmth. " Don't ever leave me. "

" I love you too, May. I guess I was just too clueless and scared to tell you. " He frowned for a moment, " To be honest, I thought you like Drew for a while. "

May jumped for joy inside her head, he really loved her back! She felt like she was in a fairytale, and this was her happy ending. Except, this wasn't the end yet. She laughed, " Drew? Ew, no. " They laughed together and shared another kiss, this one briefer than the last.

" When do we tell them? " May asked. Ash knew what she meant. To be honest, the only person he was embarassed to tell was Brock because he'd travelled with him for so long.

" I doesn't matter. " The excitement of the kiss wore away as he began to think of Misty again, but decided to try and stay happy, for Mays sake. Misty wouldn't want him to be sad, either.

The black, large shadow stalked over them silently, without notice. It watched the boy, holding hands with the other girl, and felt a sense of betrayal. It didn't try to hide or sneak away, instead, it landed on the beach.

" Dialga. " Ash called happily. He wasn't scared of Dialga, as he had discovered that Dialga was an ally. But, for some reason, Dialga wasn't looking overly pleased.

" Asshh. " It hissed, " You are supposed to be with your championess. "

" Why? I don't love her, Dialga. It's all stupid. "

" I know it is. " It spoke wisely, " But Mewtwo will be all but pleased. "

" Why Mewtwo? " May said before thinking.

" Mewtwo is the leader, of course. It is he that hates the humans, and leads the others to hate, convincing them it is right when it is all but right. You get Mewtwo, you stop them all, because they will have no one to lead them and they are too stupid to lead themselves. " It explained.

" Where can I find Mewtwo? " Ash asked with determination. His crazyness and love for his friends and May would drive him to it without question.

" I do not know exactly, but I think he is with your father right now. " Ash growled at the word ' father. ' He hated Giovanni, and would never accept him.

" Then that's where I'll go. "

" Get down, quickly! " Dialga roared. Ash and May ran, only looking back to see Dialga flying towards them, alone, and much faster than them.

Ash knew what came next, and he grabbed May, dragging her away, but it was no use. Dialga was faster, and flew down, grabbing her by the arms. Ash reached up as a last resort but missed her leg completely. He was about to give up completely, when someone else grabbed his arm and pulled him along.

" Brock? How did you get here? " Ash shouted, above the noise of Dialga roaring.

" There's no time for chitchat, Ash! " He shouted back, speeding up.

Dodging the flying attacks, As ran frantically. Next to him, Brock jumped over a fallen tree log.

" Where are you taking her? " Ash demanded angrily.

" To your father. "

Ash stopped, allowing the betraying monster to get ahead. Memories of James telling him about his father flooded back to him... _No, he's not my father. He never will be. _

But he was, and he was going to kill her, for sure.

Ash felt a sudden urge to run faster than he ever had. Dialga wasn't that far up, and Staraptor would easily be able to keep up with its slowing speed. Ash called the bird pokemon out and jumped on its back. Feeling a bit guilty for Brock, who was still running, he called out Swellow and told Brock to fly on it.

Staraptor easily caught up with Dialga, but there was no way to take May back without injuring her, so they let it carry her further away, until they came to a giant valley. Ash became nervous and flew below Dialga, incase it dropped May. He wasn't going to let her die like Misty did.

. . .

" Soo, what's your story, Jessie? " Drew started awkwardly. He had never met this woman, nevermind talked to her. They had arrived back at the Petalburg gym hours ago and were wondering where May and the others were.

" It's a long one, but I don't care because I'm bored and I'll shorten it. " She grumbled and cleared her throat, " Well, James and I were hiding in this cave with Meowth. It was perfect, but of course I had to be attacked by some pokemon and left for dead by my two best friends. I was pregnant, yes, I think it was James'. " She turned to Drew, who was slightly concerned, " But it's dead. Don't ask me what happened about that. "

" Does James have lavender-ish hair? "

" Yeah, he does. How do you know? " Jessie demanded.

" I saw him in a balloon on my way here a couple of days ago. "

And with that, Jessie dissapeared out of the door before Drew could stop her. Now he wished she was still there, because he was lonely again.

. . .

They arrived just moments later. A giant, white building, with at least thirty floors, with no attempt at all to hide it. Infact, a giant ' R ' had been plastered on the front of the building, much like Jessie and James' uniforms. Workers circled the outside, guarding the building, with Arboks and Ekans, Weezings and Koffings. One even had a Seviper. Ash prepared for a fight, but the guards didn't stop him. Infact, they cleared away to let him in. Dialga dropped May into Ash's arms like nothing had happened and flew away.

" Ha, well that was easier than expected. " He softly put May down on her feet and turned on his heels to walk away, only to find he was surrounded by Team Rocket grunts. Too many to take on.

" Get inside. "

* * *

><p><strong>Woo hoo! Advanceshipping, finally! ( Even if it was the worst scene i've wrote so far. )<strong>

**And now, Ash is forced inside The Team Rocket Hoenn HQ. :o**

**Here's a sneak peak of the next chapter, ( We're close to the end now, D: );**

**As if Giovanni's Persian wasn't enough, he was going to make them take on the whole lot. He called out his pokemon, one by one, as Ash and Co. did the same. Of course, Giovanni doesn't play by the rules, so he had more than six and Ash still had Swellow, Infernape, Staraptor, Torterra and... Wait, Pikachu wasn't here, so he only had five. **

**" Go, Mewtwo. " Ash froze as Giovanni threw a pokeball, and the legendary appeared. No way they could beat all of them and Mewtwo. This was unfair.**

**And how was Ash supposed to catch and stop Mewtwo if it was already caught by Giovanni.**

**Mewtwo began to launch attacks at May. **

* * *

><p><strong>I'll try and update soon!<strong>

**Infernape.**


	16. Explosion

**Yes, it's finally here!**

**I have to say, I'm sorry this took so long. About a week after I posted my last chapter ( and had finished writing 16 and 17 ), my computer crashed and decided it wasn't going to work anymore, so I had no access to a computer. BUT, my brother got a laptop for his birthday and is allowing me to use it until I get a new one, so I can post like normal. **

**Sorry this one's so short, the next one will be too, but 18 should be longer.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>"Get inside." The words rung in his head. Giovanni wanted him in there, and Ash wasn't ready to face him yet. Not with all the things he already had to deal with, and even though he was his father, Ash could tell this wasn't going to be a friendly chat between father and son. Giovanni wanted something from him. Using May to drag him here was clever.<p>

But why had Dialga helped him, if he was on their side?

Ash sighed heavily, hoping he looked calm, and smiled. "Whatever you say." He turned on his heels and stopped in front of the automatic double doors of Team Rocket's HQ. Feeling May's eyes on his back, he turned back to her and smiled for reassurance. He had pulled her into all this, even though it was her choice.

"May, you stay here, OK?"

May's eyes widened and she shook her head. She had half expected him to say something like that.

"No, I won't let you go alone." She insisted, crossing her arms. The Team Rocket grunts raised an eyebrow at the conversation that was wasting their time.

"I won't be alone, I have Brock." He argued back to her, though it seemed pointless. She was determined to come, and he wasn't going to stop her today. May scoffed and pushed past him.

"I don't care."

Ash almost laughed at her attitude, then remembered the situation they were currently in, and followed her inside. Thoughts flashed through his mind. Thoughts of Dawn, Gary, Misty, Paul and his mom. He still felt pain when he thought about Misty falling through the sky. He would never be able to look at Giratina again. In a way friends do, he loved Misty and her tomboy style. He almost allowed a tear to fall, until May broke his trance.

"Ash?" She bent her head and looked up at him. He shook his head a few times and nodded.

"I'm fine."

The room was large, white and plain. There was really no other way to describe it. It was like he was dreaming. The only thing in the room was a stand, holding a map of the complete building, placed in the middle of the room. They couldn't be this stupid, could they? One of the rooms was labelled ' Legendaries '. Ash paused. _What does that mean?_

"I suggest..." Brock trailed his finger along the map. "We go to Giovanni's office." Ash face palmed, because that was the place they were going to go anyway. Where else would they go? To the café?

"But how do we get there?"

May was right, there was no visible stairs. Ash paced around a bit, and searched the walls, knocking on them, while May watched him like he was crazy.

"Can I ask you guys something completely irrelevant?" Brock's mouth moved into a straight line, like a bad poker face. Ash smiled at him as he finally knocked and found metal. The elevator pinged and opened, revealing another white room, this time only smaller and... an elevator.

"Yes Brock, we did." He said as he stepped into the elevator and watched May jump in next to him. Brock raised an eyebrow and pursed his lips.

"How did you know what I was going to say?"

"It was a bit obvious." Ash grinned. May looked between the two, not understanding.

"Well congratulations, it's about time. It was obvious you liked him for a long time, May."

May blushed furiously and smacked Ash's arm for laughing at her.

"Now isn't the time for congratulating though, Brock." Ash suddenly frowned and the doors of the elevator opened once more, but this time into a long, yet again, white corridor. On the right, left and center of the corridor were doors, marked with labels. The right one saying ' Ariana and Archer ', the left one saying ' Petrol and Proton ' and then the middle one labelled ' Giovanni, do not enter. ' However, someone was already inside, arguing with him. They just stood and listened for a moment, trying to figure out who was inside.

"I don't want to see your faces in here any more." Giovanni shouted, so that Ash and co. could here clearly.

"Fine, we quit!" Ash recognised the voices all too well. James and Meowth. They erupted from the door just moments later, angry expressions and clenched fists. They stopped in their tracks however when they spotted the twerps. Ash pushed May behind him once more.

"What are you doing here?" James pointed at him.

"Giovanni wanted to see me."

"Well I hope you have better luck than me." He stormed into the elevator Ash had just stepped from and disappeared from sight. Ash looked back even though they were far from sight and remembered. He should of told James about Jessie, but then again it was none of his business anyway.

"Shall we go?" Brock held out a hand in the direction of Giovanni's door. What other option was there? There was none. Maybe he would finally get answers to all the questions mindlessly floating in his head. Occasionally he would think of another one, or something someone said would add one.

Brock led the way in, not bothering to knock, just opening the door and walking in. Giovanni's office was not white, but red. His desk sat in the middle, and Persian by it's side. Blueprints covered the walls, along with pictures of pokemon and Rocket members. The rest of the room was blank, except for a vase in a corner. Giovanni sat at his desk tapping his fingers against it, not bothered by Ash's entry. He folded a piece of paper and stuck it on a drawer, coughed, and looked up at him. A tension built up, an atmosphere you could cut with a knife.

"Is this Dawn?" He pointed to May. She held her hand out and took Ash's.

"No." Ash spoke low and deep.

"I see," He looked at her, "Pretty girl." Ash snarled.

"What do you want with us?" It was an innocent question, about to be answered with a not so innocent answer.

"I want you to make a deal with me, Ash." Giovanni grabbed a pokeball from his belt and twirled it on the end of his index finger. A flashback occurred in Ash's mind. James' had mentioned a deal before, but he couldn't remember exactly what it was about.

"What kind of deal?" Ash said cautiously. If it brought May and the others to safety, he was going to agree.

"We will stop completely, and return to simply stealing pokemon here and there, if..." He smiled and Ash didn't quite understand. "If you join Team Rocket."

May gripped Ash's hand tighter and held her breath. Ash remembered now, and he thought about it for a minute. He still didn't understand.

"I don't understand. What do you mean, ' return to stealing pokemon '? It's the legendaries causing the problems right now, not you. You think I care if you're following me?" He laughed slightly, but Giovanni wasn't fazed. Ash certainly didn't understand.

"Oh Ash, you still don't get it."

Everyone froze.

"I thought you would of figured it out by now. It seems you're more brainless than I thought. You think the legendaries would do this out of choice?" He gripped the pokeball he had previously been turning on his finger. "All this time, Ash, the legend was a lie. I wanted you to believe you were a champion so you would be the one to face me. So that YOU would be the one I defeated before I wiped out the human race!" He laughed manically, Persian joining in. Ash was frozen. Giovanni couldn't have... The last weeks had been a lie. There was no champion, or championess. The legendaries had been acting on his orders and Dialga was helping Giovanni make him believe. It was all clear now. There were no allies, except his friends. Misty, Paul and his mom were dead, all because Giovanni wanted to face Ash. He wanted to make Ash suffer. Rage built up in him, making his legs shake, and May felt it. He dropped her hand and picked up the vase instead, hurling it towards the man. Persian jumped in front of it and broke it with it's claws.

"I wouldn't. I have complete control over all these legendary pokemon." Giovanni stood up and walked around to the front of his desk, still a room away from Ash.

"But I only need one."

What did that mean?

He finally tossed the pokeball he had kept in his hand for the last five minutes, and time seemed to stop. A white light flashed, and a figure appeared, as tall as Giovanni himself, with a long tail, cat-like ears...

Mewtwo.

The pokemon stood above Ash, glowing with energy and power. Energy and power controlled by Giovanni. It was at that exact moment as May tensed up next to him, that Ash realised that the next battle would decide everyone's fate. If he lost, then it would be up to May, perhaps Brock or Dawn, to save everyone. Even though the legend was a lie, the man would kill Ash. This, he knew.

"So, about that deal?" Giovanni crossed his arms and Mewtwo followed his actions. Ash looked back at Brock. Brock shook his head. His attention went to May when she grabbed his arm.

"Don't, Ash. I don't care how much we have to fight." She pleaded.

"Oh, how sweet. But Ash, if you agree to join us, your friends will be safe. We promise we won't touch them."

Ash thought about it for a moment. He frowned and closed his eyes for a moment. His mind was telling him no, but his heart was saying yes, for May.

"Okay, Giovanni." Ash started. May's eyes widened and Brock shifted. "I agree." May screamed out and reached out to grab him, but he stepped away and looked at her with eyes filled with such pain, it hurt her. Brock said nothing, he just frowned at Ash and shook his head, like he couldn't think of anything.

"No Ash!" She cried and tried to reach for him again. When he stepped away again, she grabbed a pokeball in panic and tossed it. Blaziken appeared in front of her and launched a flamethrower at Mewtwo. The attack missed and Mewtwo snickered.

"What are you doing, May?" Ash shouted. He almost sounded angry, but he wasn't, he was upset.

"I love you, Ash, and if I have to fight to get you back, I will." She shouted back as Mewtwo began a psychic attack and Blaziken closed the gap for a Blaze Kick. Brock called out his own pokemon, Croagunk. Ash only watched as they fought for him, until he re-thought his decision and frowned.

"Go, Torterra!"

May's face lit up and she stopped frowning. There was no way they were losing this battle.

"Torterra, Leaf Storm!" Ash called. The tornado of leaves almost ripped the desk from the floor. With the surprise, Mewtwo was hit and struggled as they collided.

"Now Croagunk, brick break!" Brock's Croagunk took advantage of Mewtwo's pain and landed another hit, directly on it's stomach. Mewtwo noticed an overheat being charged behind it, and took advantage.

"Now, Blaziken." But Blaziken stopped. Mewtwo had used Me First, and fired the attack at Torterra, who was hit head on by the harsh fire attack. Croagunk landed another Brick Break, but Mewtwo hardly felt it.

"Torterra, synthesis!" Torterra surrounded itself with a blindingly bright green light.

Mewtwo used Psyshock, but Blaziken knocked it out of the way with flamethrower.

"Stop." Giovanni said plainly. He smiled. "I knew this would happen, fools. Mewtwo, plan B!"

_What does he want now? Has he not taken enough away from Ash? If I got the chance to, I would kill this man. Nobody has the right to..._

May stopped her angry thoughts as Giovanni pulled a remote from his drawer. It was a simple remote, with one button in the middle. Just one button. This was bad. His finger lowered, hovered, and clicked the button.

_Bang!_

Something exploded below them on another floor. They were frozen, hearts thudding, throats dry...

_This is it, we should of known he had a plan, a trap. Is this the end? I only got ten minutes... ten minutes of being with Ash before all hell was let loose again. Why can't we just be left alone? _

The bangs were getting closer, almost deafening. Giovanni had smashed the window and jumped out on Mewtwo's back. Lucky for Ash, he had bird pokemon with him too. Staraptor and Swellow, and he called them out.

"Brock, May, get on Staraptor and Swellow!" He called. Brock stared for a moment and jumped on, but the blow came faster, knocking the wall down, knocking Ash flying from the 17th floor of Team Rocket's HQ, nothing to catch him, he had to let himself fall. He felt the wind knocked out of him, and saw the blackness crawling in at the corner of his eyes. Giovanni had won, and he had lost. _Please, let May be Okay. _Ash gave in to the darkness and fell now in his unconscious state.

May gripped onto the wall. She couldn't hear anything any more. Scared she had gone deaf and struggling to keep a hold of the wall as the explosions pushed her away, she coughed in the smoke and grabbed a wall light. Her legs were knocked from the ground. She felt something touch them, something powerful. It slipped under her and she allowed it to take her away. She couldn't see anything, hear anything. She could just feel, until the last blow. It shook her, she felt it in her bones. She was knocked off whatever had been carrying her. All she felt now was air, then nothing.

...

Brock woke, feeling only pain. He was on grass, how did he get there again? The only thing he could see was Swellow, knocked out and rubble. Then, he remembered, the explosions that were meant to kill them.

Ash and May.

Brock stood up. A shoot of pain ran up his leg, but he didn't care. He looked around for them, but only noticed one. Ash was by the trees, lying in a curled up position. His hat was gone and his face was scarred. He wasn't awake.

May, however, was a little further into the trees.

Brock rushed over to Ash and knelt beside him. A rustling came from behind him, and he whirled around to see May stumble out of the trees. She was standing, but she looked like she couldn't make out things.

"May?"

"Brock?" She looked at him, but something wasn't right. "Am I awake?" She stumbled in pain.

"Yes May." He sniffed. He was actually crying, partly with happiness for May but worry for Ash. Suddenly, May fell to the floor and started screaming. Such a blood-curdling scream, Brock covered his ears.

"May, what's wrong!?"

"Brock! I can't see anything!" She screamed again and reached out, as if trying to touch something. Brock's heart stopped for a moment. Had May lost her sight? "Brock, is Ash okay!?" she shouted. It seemed she cared about him more than her sight. Brock turned to Ash and looked at his chest. It wasn't rising.

It wasn't falling.

Brock began to breath into Ash's mouth and pushing his chest, but nothing changed. Ash just lay there motionless.

"Brock, what's going on!?"

But how could Brock tell a now possibly blind May that her boyfriend was probably dead?

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><p><strong>Is Ash dead!? <strong>

**You won't know until I post the next one (tomorrow, because i'm feeling nice:D).**

**Sneak peak of what WILL happen in the next chapter:**

_ Brock would never reach his pokeballs in time, so in a panic he pulled Dawn away. Mewtwo's arm reached May and he pulled her up by her neck, making it hard for her to breathe. Drew called out all of his pokemon and called various attacks, but nothing worked, nothing hurt Mewtwo. It spoke quietly into her ear. "I killed him, I could kill you right now." It whispered. She was crying on it's hands, but it didn't care. She closed her eyes and invited it to kill her._

**Until tomorrow**_ o, _

__Infernape


	17. Final Battle? Part One

**As promised, another chapter.**

**I was really unsure of whether I should of even posted this chapter, purely because no ones seen the last one, heh. Maybe people have forgotten about this?;o I would usually have a review or two by now.**

**Never mind though, I'm going to continue posting as normal as long as the view count goes up by at least one. **

**Enjoy! (This one is short too.)**

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><p>"What's going on!?" Brock was frozen. Half way between tears and passing out. This couldn't be it. This couldn't be the end of Ash, who'd survived so much before and still had so much time left. He had only just grown up too, finally falling in love.<p>

"Brock, I can see green." May grinned and swung her head around. She wasn't blind and her vision was repairing, that was good. But Brock didn't pay any attention. He was silently sobbing over his still friend.

A loud cackle came from behind them. Brock swung around, ready to run at Giovanni. He wasn't there. It was only Mewtwo. It was laughing at the sight it could see. A mourning man, a dead teenager and a half blind girl. How sick do you get? Brock was in shock, full of rage and in pain. He felt sick. Dizzy.

"That fool Giovanni thought I was going to save him." It laughed. Brock realised where Giovanni was now. Giovanni was most likely dead. Mewtwo had no heart to accept anyone into. It would never learn to trust, agree or love. It was a real monster.

"You did this!"Brock shouted. "You killed people, doesn't that make you feel anything? You've broken hearts and caused nothing but trouble for innocent people!" Mewtwo seemed to twitch for a moment, but it was soon gone and it was laughing again.

"Humans created me this way. I have no purpose. I was made by scientists in years of horrible experiments. Since I had no purpose..." It swished it's tail in the air in an almost proud way. "... I made up my own. To destroy all humans and preserve the Earth once more." It sounded sinister and determined. Too bad Brock wasn't just going to stand by and watch it. He stepped away from Ash to confront Mewtwo.

"Not all humans are the same, Mewtwo. Some humans are good. Ash was a great person, and did nothing but help pokemon. Don't you remember when he helped you?"

"I remember nothing." It turned away.

"He saved your life once! Look what you did to him!"

Something moved in the trees, making them both look away. Indeed, someone was moving in the forest, quickly. A flash of green in-between the leaves, until the figured emerged. Drew. For some reason, this didn't surprise Brock as much as should of.

Brock had only met him once or twice and merely wondered why he was here.

"May!" He shouted and ran over as Mewtwo's eyes followed his every move. He bent next to her and touched her shoulder, but she moved away. Brock eyed him with concern.

"Drew? Where's Ash?" She looked around. Drew spotted Ash and looked at him. He nearly passed out in shock. He never liked him, but he wouldn't want it to go like this... Poor May...

"It's OK, May." Drew took her hand and pulled her up.

"I can only see blurry objects." She frowned. Brock's attention was back on Mewtwo.

"Now that I'm done here, I can begin the final parts of my plan! Don't try and follow me, or you'll die too."

"Why can't I hear Ash yet? Is he okay? Brock!?" May shouted. She was getting grumpy, and Brock didn't want to break her heart. Drew wandered over and spoke to Brock, despite the two not knowing each other.

"I care about her, I don't want to break her heart." He frowned and spoke quiet enough so that only Brock could hear. Brock nodded. Brock was dying on the inside. Mewtwo had killed his friend that he'd been with for years. It felt like his heart was literally tearing in two.

"May, I have something to tell you." Brock approached May. She turned to him now. She could obviously see better now, she was reading his expression. Drew had gone around the corner so he couldn't hear her cry.

"What? Just tell me?" May's eyes still searched his face.

"That explosion... well... Ash, you see, he," Brock stopped, noticing how deadly still May had become. "...didn't make it." He spat the last bit out and looked away, expecting crying, tears and screaming. There was nothing. He turned to look back at May. She looked annoyed.

" Don't joke around like that Brock, where is he?" She demanded.

"I'm so sorry May." He tried not to cry himself, but it wasn't helping much. May just stared at him, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly open.

"You're lying!" She shouted and began to look around for him. Drew covered his ears. He didn't want to hear this. However, he still heard it. She was crying louder than ever, screaming and just sitting on the grass while Brock tried to calm her down, even though he was crying himself. She began to lash out on Brock, and carried on to slap his arm as he held onto her. She was going to run off into the forest, but he was holding her back. She tried to bite his arm while crying, but she was only using her energy up. Suddenly, she stopped. Drew took his hands off his ears and stepped out a bit.

"Brock." May started. Brock nodded questioningly. "Where's his body?" She shook in his arms. Their heads shot towards where Ash had just lay.

"Shit!" Brock let go of her. He cussed as he looked around for him. "What the?" The body was nowhere. He was dead a minute ago. He wasn't breathing for five minutes at least. Someone must of dragged the body away. Perhaps Mewtwo.

"He was there a minute ago! He wasn't breathing at all!" Brock shouted. "Mewtwo must have the body. We'll go stop him anyway!" He looked at Drew and May. May's face was a picture. She was going to cry again, and actually allowed Drew to hug her. Brock began to run on ahead, until he heard the screaming. A girls scream. He ran in that direction, almost the same way Mewtwo went.

He burst out into a plain field. Well, not completely plain. Gary was in the middle, attacking Mewtwo with his Electabuzz. Mewtwo was battling Gary, who was covering for a girl who was running for Brock. He just stood as she got closer and allowed her to hug him. She was a bit smaller so he leant down and hugged her. It still felt strange, but not in a bad way.

"Brock, so glad you're okay." She smiled when they pulled away. "Where's Ash?" She asked him, looking behind his shoulder.

"I thought you would know." He frowned and held back tears.

"What do you mean?" She asked. She was here to see them after seeing the building had been destroyed on the news yesterday. Why was Brock still around here anyway?

"Ash is dead, Dawn." Brock wasted no time. Everything went still again as Dawn soaked in the news. She just stood there for what seemed like hours, a cold chill up her spine and such pain in her heart, more than she'd ever felt. She couldn't bring words or tears up. May and Drew came out, May crying buckets as he guided her.

Suddenly Gary was knocked away by Mewtwo. With everyone else in a state of depression, no one wanted to fight. They all wanted to cry. Mewtwo began to fly over to the group, it's arm outstretched. Brock would never reach his pokeballs in time, so in a panic he pulled Dawn away. Mewtwo's arm reached May and he pulled her up by her neck, making it hard for her to breathe. Drew called out all of his pokemon and called various attacks, but nothing worked, nothing hurt Mewtwo. It spoke quietly into her ear. "I killed him, I could kill you right now." It whispered. She was crying on it's hands, but it didn't care. She closed her eyes and invited it to kill her.

"Go on then." She said, gulping. "Kill me." Mewtwo blinked a couple of times and tightened it's grip. She could still breathe, but not well at all. Brock was shouting something on the ground but she blocked it out. Dawn was screaming like a newborn baby, covering her own ears as she collapsed to her knees on the grass

She felt something touch her leg and Mewtwo fly backwards, still holding her. Someone below was doing damage, but May didn't dare open her eyes. Brock was probably helping her. There was rustling, flapping, someone crying loudly, and the grip on her throat was gone. She was being carried by a flying pokemon? Brock had no flying types, did he? So it must of been Drew, Gary or Dawn. She spluttered and coughed. She was flying on something for five minutes, before she felt herself being placed on grass. She opened her eyes. Brock , Gary and Drew were staring in disbelief. Brock looked like he wanted to faint and couldn't breath, but his face was lit up. She had no idea what was happening, and he face stayed straight as she stood up and twirled around. Her face elated. This was happening, wasn't it? May wasn't too sure anymore. Dawn was hugging an all too familiar boy. He opened his eyes and smiled at May, who was just standing there, grinning like a Cheshire cat. When Dawn was finished, May practically jumped on him. They embraced for a few moments before she kissed him, and began crying again. Gary, who hadn't been told the news of the two getting together yet, cringed and frowned. How had Ash gotten a girl before him!? Dawn smiled for the two, while Drew recoiled. She was already dating him? He was thinking about this already. He was ready to try and steal her off him, but he now knew he couldn't. He wouldn't even be able to get a hug now. That last one was only because she was so upset. The thing was, he wasn't so bothered any more. May could do what she liked, because he had moved on.

Everyone seemed to forget about Mewtwo. Everyone but Gary (because he wasn't told Ash was dead) was speechless and crying.

"Ash, how the hell?" Brock asked his old friend. "You weren't breathing." Ash frowned and stayed silent. It seemed he either didn't want to talk about it, or didn't know. They would find out soon, though...

"How touching. I really thought I had you there, Ketchum." Mewtwo hovered above the group. As they began another argument, no-one noticed Dawn pulling a pokeball from her bag.

"Go!" She shouted, startling Mewtwo. Ash twirled to see what pokemon she was using. The ball opened and a flash of light revealed a black face, with blue, piercing eyes. It's long claws stuck out, ready for battle. It looked just as fearsome as Mewtwo.

"Darkrai, use hypnosis!" Dawn commanded, and the dark pokemon began emitting a wave, making May feel sleepy. Mewtwo created a psychic barrier and simply knocked it away.

"Torterra" Ash called the continent pokemon back into battle.

"Croagunk!"

"Blaziken!"

"Electabuzz!"

"Roserade!"

They had a great advantage. Their six pokemon could easily beat Mewtwo. Plus, they had plenty of others. This battle was as good as won, and Mewtwo seemed to notice.

But there is more than one way to lose.

A loud rumbling came from behind them. Ash knew what was coming, but the others were clueless. Shapes formed in the trees. Large shapes, flattening the forest. The legendaries.

Giratina, Lugia, Palkia, Rayquaza and Dialga. Dialga, Ash spat. Where were the other legendaries? Probably off destroying some parts of the world. They would have to win, and fast.

"Torterra, Leaf Storm at Mewtwo!" Ash pushed on. They would each have to take on one of the legendaries. May's Blaziken was a aiming a flamethrower at Dialga, Brock's Croagunk was brick breaking Palkia, but doing nothing. Darkrai was doing great damage to Giratina. Rayquaza was attacking Electabuzz and Lugia was attacking Roserade with an advantage. Ash's pokemon would face Mewtwo, just like it wanted, without the ending it wanted.

Mewtwo dodged the attack and lifted Torterra into the air with psychic. Torterra was thrown against a nearby tree and slumped to the floor.

"Get up, Torterra!" Ash shouted. Torterra rose up, looking as good as new. "Now, energy ball!"

Torterra began charging the ball at it's mouth, but didn't launch it. Dawn nodded over at him between her own attacks. Surprisingly, Darkrai was completely under her control. Torterra's energy was charged, and he pushed it back. After swallowing the energy ball, the green glow began and Torterra was consumed in it. It roared with power and charged another energy ball, twice as fast and shot it at Mewtwo. The ball flew through the air, so fast it couldn't dodge and took the attack head first.

May's Blaziken's attacks were all missing. Dialga was charging a dragon pulse, so she didn't have long to think. Dialga released the energy in a tornado of power.

"Overheat!" The two attacks collided mid-air and knocked both May and Blaziken back. Smoke covered the field, making Drew cough and Gary look annoyed.

"Blaze kick!" May said loud enough for only Blaziken to hear. Luckily, May had taught Blaziken well enough so that he could see through it, and the attack landed on Dialga's chest. The towering giant seemed unharmed.

Suddenly it opened it's mouth and performed another attack. This one was far stronger than the other. This must have been Dialga's signature move, Roar of Time. The attack completely engulfed Blaziken and immediately knocked it out. However, Dialga had to recharge now, and May had a pokemon that was perfect for dragon types.

"Go, Glaceon!" Glaceon appeared. She was only a bug compared to Dialga but her attacks were strong. "Ice shard and Ice beam, keep firing them!" She ordered. Glaceon shot an ice beam at one of Dialga's legs, freezing it up. The pokemon struggled with the new weight and collapsed to the ground. Glaceon proceeded to freeze the other front leg and bombard it's opponent with vicious ice shards, that were also super effective. May's strategy seemed perfect at that moment. Dialga couldn't move and Glaceon was nowhere near tired.

_Crash!_

May's attention was turned to Dawn, who's Darkrai had just fainted. She called out her Mamoswine. A great choice.

Drew was struggling. His Roserade had been no match for Lugia's Aeroblast and neither was his Flygon. He was now using Absol.

Gary's Electabuzz was replaced with Blastoise, much like her own. Gary seemed to be having fun against Rayquaza, though it was hardly a fair battle and not a time to be having fun.

Of course she looked to Ash. Torterra was still hanging strong. It was glowing green and shooting Leaf Storms at Mewtwo, most hitting. Though May could see it was beginning to become tired. Mewtwo was beginning to show signs of weakness, but not much.

Glaceon looked to her trainer for a command.

"Iron tail, on it's gem!" She shouted. Dialga was beginning to charge another dragon pulse. Glaceon's tail hit the jewel spot on, making a cracking noise I what seemed like silence to May. Dialga cried out in pain ad another ice beam froze it's back legs and ice shards continued to hit it. It opened it's mouth again and knocked out Glaceon before May could say anything. Another Roar of Time, a desperate attempt to win this battle.

May's next pokemon was Skitty, who was even less than a bug to Dialga. It would all be over, if Skitty could manage a good Blizzard attack. "Blizzard!" May shouted. Skitty put all her power into the attack, and it proved to be enough. The attack was large enough to cover the jewel and Dialga's face. With it's legs no longer stuck, it collapsed on it's side, defeated. May was so proud she could scream, but she noticed everyone else was still battling.

Ash's Torterra finally fell. It was hanging on for so long and had done so much damage to Mewtwo, he was almost sure he was going to win just by using Meganium. He failed to notice May come up beside him with Skitty.

"Meganium, petal dance!" Meganium shot an array of pink petals at Mewtwo, but the flying pokemon merely stepped to the side.

"Now Skitty, assist!" Ash jumped at the sound of her voice. He looked over at Dialga and saw it was already fainted. Skitty prepared for the attack. To her surprise, it was a dark pulse, hitting Mewtwo on the back and sending it to it's knees.

"Now Meganium, launch Skitty into the air above you." Skitty jumped on it's back and got thrown into the sky.

"Blizzard!"

"Body Slam!"

Skitty's blizzard from above was still as powerful as ever and Meganium's body slam from the front increased the damage. Skitty landed on Meganium's back as they checked to see just how much damage they had done. Not enough, Mewtwo lifted the two of the ground while still crouching and sent both of them into the trees again. Skitty didn't rise, but Meganium managed to struggle up.

Beside them, Giratina collapsed too, and Dawn rushed over to Drew to help with Lugia. Gary was doing okay, but where was Brock? Ash's eyes flicked around until he spotted the man lying on the ground with Croagunk still trying to battle Palkia, even though all it's power was gone.

"Brock!" Ash called and ran over, before thinking. He sprinted across the grass and it seemed like hours passed before he got anywhere near.

"Ash, no, what are you doing!?" May was calling him back. "Ash, behind you!" Ash didn't listen to her. She was attacking Mewtwo with Beautifly and Meganium was helping, but they couldn't reach it now. "Ash!"

Ash realised he was no longer on the floor. He was hovering almost four foot about it. Mewtwo had him with psychic and he couldn't do it. His more mature heart tore in two as he realized what this meant. After all, May had told him to stop. This was all Mewtwo's pan and he'd fallen straight for it.

"You're stronger than I thought, but you're weak when it comes to your friends." Mewtwo smirked. "You have a chance of beating me, but without you, there is no hope." It's mouth moved into a straight line, and it flew away again, dragging Ash behind it, and not purposely, May.

He found his voice and screamed. Was this the end of the world? He wouldn't be able to stand and watch his friends get hurt. It was hard to believe they had gotten in this position in just hours. The past 24 hours flashed in his mind. Misty being taken away, her dying, confessing to May, running here, battling Giovanni and battling Mewtwo. Now this...? He realised he had been given too many chances. Mewtwo was going to be defeated. He could feel it's power being drained away and its weakness was visible. May, Dawn, Drew and Gary would beat him easily, but there would likely be one sacrifice...

Him.

_Don't bother wasting your energy saving me. I can't escape from the mess this time._

****Could he?

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><p><strong>Well, I've realized that I didn't post it a day after the last one, be<strong>**cause it's 00:12, heh. Oh well.**

**Sneak Peak of what MIGHT happen in the next chapter:**

****"I told you before, I don't care! Get the hell away from me before I call the police!" Jessie erupted into her ex-friends face. She felt strange saying she would call the police since she always used to be the bad guy. She had never told anybody she was going to see James because she wanted to see him... and now, he was putting this pressure on her?

...

What were May's little legs against this beast? She was just about ready to collapse when Mewtwo stopped in front of her and Drew skidded to a halt. What was it doing, just staring at her like that? It seemed to be feeling something, and it's eyes were full of an emotion May couldn't read. She wondered for the first time, if it was feeling sorry for her?

But the events that unfolded straight after proved she was wrong. So very wrong.

**I hope you guys find the time to review and tell me what you thought of the twist in the last (16) chapter!**

**Thanks, **

**Infernape**


	18. Final Battle? Part Two

**Yes, another chapter!**

**PLEASE READ: I'm still concerned about the fact that no one has reviewed at all for a while. I know a couple of more people have followed this story, so it would help a lot if you reviewed and told me whatever was wrong, **

**Thanks:D**

**This chapter has A LOT going on in it, and a lot of unexpected things. If there's something you dislike or if you think I'm moving to fast with this, please say. I won't mind.**

**Also this is the longest chapter so far, by quite a bit.**

**Warning: Some things mentioned in this chapter may go past the pg-13 mark. **

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Jessie's eyes scanned the parking lot. She was stupid. James' wouldn't park a hot air balloon among cars. She had searched the area over and over again, but the one place she hadn't searched, was where he was.<p>

...

May ran faster. Ahead of her, she could see Mewtwo carrying Ash, whom had been knocked out. She was tired and could hardly breathe, but she carried on. She wasn't going to let Mewtwo get away with this.

Behind her, she could hear footsteps. Probably Drew. She wished he would leave her be. His pokemon were too weak to fight now anyway, so what was he coming for? She wondered if she should tell him this, but decided against it. He wouldn't be able to run for much longer anyway, since he was less athletic than everyone else...

May noticed Mewtwo stop and turn to her. She wondered if it was going to attack her, but it just stood staring at her. She looked to Ash and reached for her pokeballs, but he shook his head frantically. He looked like he was trying to say something, but couldn't open his mouth?

Where was everyone else? Hadn't they beaten the legendaries yet? None of them seemed to be having problems, well, apart from Drew.

Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Drew, of course, and he wasn't looking tired at all. This was a first.

"Get your hand off my shoulder please." She scowled at him and he recoiled. Mewtwo turned away again but moved slower this time, as if he wanted May to follow. With the pace it was moving at, she could easily walk and keep up with it.

"May, where are we going?" Drew asked her after another five minutes of walking.

"How should I know!?" She snapped. "Why are you even here?" She eyed him suspiciously. If he was still planning on hitting on her, he had another thing coming... "You can forget about the idea of you and I-"

"It's not about that May." He stopped her by holding up a hand. Then what was it about?

"What?"

"It's because I didn't want to stay with the others, and I know that will sound pathetic to you." He ran a hand through his hair nervously. "The thing is, all my pokemon fainted from Lugia's aeroblast, and... I didn't want to look weak in front of..."

"Dawn?" May guessed, but it wasn't really a guess at all.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"I think it's the way you look at her." She laughed a little, then the laughter was replaced with pain and longing.

"I love her, May, and I was stupid not to realise." He frowned. He decided finally that he would tell May about what happened at the funeral. "You remember the funeral, May?"

"Of course I do." She frowned at him for bringing it up at such a time.

"Well when I went to talk to Dawn privately, we talked about you." He looked to see if she was still listening. She was, and she had raised her right eyebrow. "... and I made a deal. I don't remember why she agreed, but that was the reason she dated Ash."

"Wait, what?"

"I asked Dawn to date Ash so you would think he wasn't interested in you and then maybe you would be with me..."

"Drew! You used Ash like that, how could you!?" She shouted a little too loud, catching the attention of Ash. He continued to listen in as carefully as he could.

"I regret it now, May. I hated him because you liked him so much. Remember when I picked a fight with him the first time we met? That was for the same reason."

"That's no excuse to toy with people, Drew. Anyway, how did you know I liked Ash?"

"Well, partly because it was slightly obvious, and partly because you whispered his name in your sleep the night before."

"Oh, did I? I don't remember..." She trailed off again... "HEY WAIT!" She exploded. "How did you know I said that!? I was alone in that room except for Ash! Were you spying on me!?"

"No, no!" Drew shook his hands as they continued to walk slowly. "I was going to climb in your window and surprise you, since I had come to Sinnoh and you didn't know, then I saw Ash in the other bed, and you said his name, and I decided not to. I didn't know that was his name at the time, but I guessed right."

"Oh. That's still a little creepy, though." May looked down and dragged her feet as she stepped. "It's been a while since we chatted like this, Drew."

"Yeah, mainly because of the arguments and stuff, am I right? I hope you can forgive me and we can be friends, May..."

May was surprised by his manners and the way he was speaking. How could she say no? "Okay, Drew, I forgive you." Drew came in for a hug, but she stepped back. "But I'm not hugging you yet." Drew giggled a bit.

"So can I ask you something, May?..." He looked very serious again and May prepared for the worst.

"Go ahead."

"Well, I've been wanting to ask this for a long time, but..." He held his breath for a moment... "What happened between you and Harley?"

…

"Dawn, congratulations!" Gary smiled. The group had fainted all of the legendaries, and now the field looked strange, with all those big pokemon lying there... They looked like they were sleeping. Dawn looked up at the boy she had only met a couple of times before and smiled at his praise for her.

"Thanks, Gary. It was nothing really."

"Wow, you make it look and sound so easy." He smiled again. Brock suspiciously glared at him. He was never this nice and polite. Was he trying to hit on Dawn perhaps? Knowing him, the answer was probably yes. He loved the ladies. Just like Brock. And even now in this life threatening situation, Brock was drooling over imaginary girls in his head.

"Wait, where did May, Drew and Ash go?" Gary asked. Brock looked around too. Right, they had run off somewhere.

"May and Drew followed Mewtwo. It has Ash in it's Psychic attack, but it's getting weaker every second. Let's go!" Dawn began running, but was stopped immediately but another figure that came crashing out of the trees. The figure was not a person, but a pokemon. A yellow mouse pokemon that squealed with joy as it pounced all over Dawn.

"Pikachu!" Brock and Gary shouted in unison. Dawn rasied her head from the floor looking groggy.

"Pikachu, don't surprise me like that."

"Pika pi!? Pika pi!?" Pikachu waved it's arms madly, asking where it's trainer was. Brock had learnt to understand Pikachu, since he had spent six years with the pokemon.

"Ash is with Mewtwo, we're going to find him now. Is anyone with you, Pika?"

"Pikachu, Pi Pika! Pikaaaa."

"What's he saying, Brock?" Dawn asked now that she'd pulled herself off the mud.

"He says he saw Jessie nearby and a strange man dressed in green. Pikachu, was either of them following you?"

"Pi."

"Which one?"

"Pika Pika."

"Oh, god."

"What Brock?"

" Pikachu says that Jessie followed him and the green man was headed right for where May and Ash are right now."

"And Drew." Dawn added strangely.

"Right, and, um, Drew." Brock coughed nervously and gestured for Pikachu to jump on his shoulder. The man dressed In green sounded like bad news, and Brock wanted to make sure the teens were safe. Before he ran, he pulled his phone out and dialled May. She answered right away, and was walking slowly still.

"May, we have a warning. There's a strange man headed your way dressed in green. Yep, we're sure. Okay." He covered the phone and turned to Pikachu. "Did you get the hair colour?"

"Pika, Pikachu."

"Thanks." He uncovered the phone and spoke again. "Purple hair." He paused. "May? May!? What? Ok, see you?" Brock hung up.

"What's up?" Dawn asked her friend. Pikachu hopped finally on Brock's shoulder and they began walking.

"May said something strange and then that she had to go. Weird, huh?" Brock scratched the back of his head as he quickened his pace and began jogging.

…

"May, what's wrong? Who was that?"

"Drew, I need to get out of here now." May's wide eyes scanned the entire area.

"May, calm down and tell me what's wrong."

"I don't believe it Drew." She cried. Ash turned to her and she noticed. He looked like he was going to cry too and he was in pain because she was crying. He couldn't speak, could he?

"It's Harley. He's here." She cried. Drew froze. May grabbed a pokeball from her bag. The fire pokemon's overheat took Mewtwo by surprise and he dropped Ash on the grass. Ash quickly scrambled to his feet and ran to her. He hugged her tight.

"May, stop crying." He smiled. Drew looked unhappily as he comforted her better than he himself could of. "Who's Harley?"

Drew sucked in a big breath. May hadn't told Ash yet. May's watery eyes met Ash's and he stared her down, waiting for an answer.

"May, you can tell me anything."

"No, Ash, it's okay, I just want to get out of here." She faked a smile. It was a really bad fake.

"But May, I have to defeat Mew-"

"I NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!" She screamed in his face angrily and he stepped back. He narrowed his eyebrows at her and Drew thought he was going to shout back for a moment.

"May, why won't you tell me?"

Mewtwo was rising again behind them.

"It's nothing Ash, honestly."

"If it was nothing, then why did you just scream at me like that?" Ash raised his eyebrows. May looked at the floor.

"I can't tell you, Ash." She said plainly. This time, the 'no' actually hurt Ash. The fact that she couldn't tell him made him feel a little upset. After all, he would share anything with her...

Mewtwo used psychic again, this time managing to pick both Ash and Drew up. May called to Ash, but he was frozen, same as Drew. The worst part was, his face was stuck on that look of pain he had given May.

Mewtwo flung the two boys into the forest as May used another overheat. Mewtwo fell to the ground again, but managed to fling a rock at her. It seemed pathetic, but it knocked the bag around the side of her waist, knocking it down and off. Mewtwo then tried to pick her up again, but was too weak and she fell metres away from her pokeballs.

Mewtwo flew off into the forest, after spotting something behind her, in search of Ash. May was about to scramble back to her pack, but something stopped her.

Someone stopped her.

She looked up from her kneeling position and felt like she was choking. Her mouth went dry and her heart began to beat fast, like it did when she first met Ash...

He looked so menacing.

"Hello, May." Harley snickered, kicking her pack away with the back of his foot. He crossed his arms. "My, my, have you gotten prettier." He grinned that evil grin again and she wanted to be sick. She wanted to move, or speak, but she couldn't...

"And more grown up. I like it. Have a boyfriend yet, May? I'd say no, not any more." He bent down and pulled her up by her arm harshly. Feeling the pain, she found movement again and tried to slap him.

Harley was expecting that and caught her hand mid-air. Next, she tried to pull herself away from him, crying.

"Aww, sweetie, you don't have to cry." He laughed. "You know, it's just me and you..." Now she really did want to be sick. From disgust and from fear. He was a lot stronger than her, being older and a boy...

He pulled her closer to him and she spat on his face. He wiped it off unhappily and snarled at her.

"You'll pay for that, you..." He exploded. "I mean, we'll have to work on your attitude, if you're going to be with me."

What the hell did he mean by that? She was really scared now. In her mind she was screaming for Ash. She screamed again and again, but the screams were only in her head. Harley was enjoying this too much, and it was exactly like last time, only last time she had Combusken to help her, now, he was in his pokeball and she couldn't reach him. This was like a replay of years ago, when he'd first tried this. That time she had been praying for Drew. Now she was praying for Ash.

Harley pulled May even closer and forced his lips against hers. It was a horrible feeling, and she desperately tried to pull away, but the more she pulled, the harder he kissed. Then, he went over the top and forced her mouth open with his tongue. No, she wouldn't have this. She pulled as hard as she could, but she was only doing herself more harm. Now she had to literally stop herself from throwing up. There was no passion in this kiss at all, and she hoped Ash would realize that.

…

"Brock, slow down!" Dawn shouted. Her legs were ready to give away and she clenched her rips in pain. Worst cramp ever.

"I get the feeling someone's in trouble." He shouted back at her.

…

Harley pushed himself against her, and she was almost ready to give up pulling away. He was still kissing her, and she still hated it. She hated it more than anything, ever. That was when Harley took it one step further, by pushing her against a tree and smirking evilly. She knew what was coming and she was too scared to help herself, plus she had no energy or strength left. She cried silently to herself as he held her against this tree. She knew it was the wrong thing to think about, but she was thinking about the fact that if he did...

Harley unzipped her blouse, revealing her yellow t-shirt. She tried to scream, but she couldn't, she tried to pull away, but she couldn't...

…

"Brock, what's that?" Dawn pointed to the grass ahead. Sure enough, there was something there...

"I think it's..." Brock trailed off and strained his eyes.

…

Harley pulled the blouse off completely. She cried and cried, but did he care? He didn't, and he was reaching to remove the rest of her clothing...

…

"It's a pokeball." Brock grabbed it from the floor and pressed the button.

It was May's Glaceon.

"How did it get here?" Dawn asked and took hold of the ball.

"I don't know, maybe she dropped it here while she was running?" Brock looked for more, but there was none. Glaceon looked around, confused and wanting her trainer.

…

May cringed and waited for it. She was crying uncontrollably now and her eyes were tight shut. She felt as if her whole world was collapsing, and all her barriers were broken. She waited for Harley to get on with it quickly. She would rather he tortured or killed her, she hated it that much...

_Smack!_

Something fell at her feet. She opened an eye and looked down at herself. He had only managed to take off her leggings and blouse, but her underwear and t-shirt were still on. She quickly cried out and pulled her leggings back up. Then she was confused, and looked up.

Ash was standing beside a collapsed Harley, looking at her with his eyelid twitching. She froze when she saw that the pain in his eyes had doubled since the last time she saw him. He honestly looked like he was going to cry. Something inside her clicked and she felt more attached to him than ever. She was so relieved.

She jumped forward and hugged him, crying onto his shoulder. She could not describe how happy she was to see him.

…

"Brock, there's something wrong here." Dawn stopped. It DID look like something had been pushed into the ground and had lay there for a little while.

"Hey, isn't that May's bag?" Gary pointed to the little yellow pack lying, with it's contents scattered on the ground.

"Brock, what happened here?" Dawn whimpered.

…

"I see." Harley coughed and rose, breaking Ash and May's hug. Ash pushed May behind him, like he always seemed to do. Harley laughed a little bit. He was only a few inches taller than Ash, and maybe 3 or 4 years older.

"I've never seen you before." Harley seemed to be _inspecting _Ash. "Where did you get this one, May? Is it another one of your whores?" May felt Ash tense up as he began to feel rage build up. "Actually no, this one is actually handsome. Very attractive." Both of them felt a bit grossed out at the last sentences. It was true, Ash had grown to be attractive, but for another man to say that?

"So I take it you two are boyfriend and girlfriend. Very sweet. Oh tell me May, did you tell your _boyfriend_ about what you felt about Drew, before you came to Sinnoh?"

May froze, she had never felt anything anything for Drew, and now Harley was going to make up lies. She felt Ash freeze and tense up even more and she found her words.

"What are you talking about?" She spat.

"I'm talking about what I saw you doing. That was a bit sick May, I'll never forget that. I thought I was bad..." He made it look so convincing, Ash turned his head to her with wide eyes and narrowed eyebrows, a look of pure concern and sadness.

"I swear, I never even kissed Drew or anything!" May cried. She turned to Harley with pure hatred and raised her fist to hit him, but he caught her arm again. The two being in contact alerted Ash, and when Harley pushed May onto the ground, Ash hit him again, and the two tumbled to the ground. They rolled a little, but it was mostly hitting each other, which May found hard to watch. Not because of Harley getting hit, but because Harley was hitting Ash. They rolled back out into the clearing, and May ran after them. She emerged from the trees to see Dawn screaming at the fighting boys. Except this wasn't a playground fight. She rubbed her cheeks and found she was crying again. She had been crying a lot lately. Gary gasped and Brock stared wide eyed.

Harley pushed Ash off him and stood up, wiping his mouth, meaning it was probably bleeding. Ash didn't look too bad, until his nose started bleeding. May tried to walk over and get him away, but they were back on each other before she had time to.

"Please, stop Ash, you'll hurt yourself!" May cried out, but neither was listening. Both were filled with rage, strong enough to kill the other if necessary.

"May, what happened?" Brock shouted. Dawn was still screaming, but not as loud as before. _Should I just tell them?_ "Just tell us!" Brock screamed, looking like he was ready to join the fight himself. He had taken the words right out of her thoughts. She continued to cry and watch them.

"Mewtwo dropped Ash, and he and Drew were flung into the forest. That was when Harley came and..."

"And?"

"He tried to rape me, Brock!" She screamed.

Dawn stopped screaming.

Brock's face had gone pure white, and so had Dawn's.

"No wonder Ash wants to kill him!" Gary shouted randomly from further behind him.

"That son of a.." Dawn started. Wait, when did she start caring?

Someone gasped in pain and everyone turned to see which one it was.

It was Harley, and Ash had seemed to have, broken his nose? Harley was rolling around in pain and Ash jumped off him, staggering backwards.

Ash suddenly turned to her and asked;

"Has he done this to you before?"

May was shocked that he had figured it out so easily, and realized everyone was waiting for the answer like they had just read a cliffhanger and were waiting for the next chapter.

"Yes."

Ash turned back around to Harley, who's nose was bleeding pretty bad.

"He's done this to you before?" Dawn gasped. Everyone forgot about Mewtwo again. "How far did you..."

"Not much this time, though he got my blouse and leggings off" May admitted, still crying. "But last time... he got a little further..." May had already told them what had happened, so she didn't keep any information to herself any more. Dawn's mouth made an 'o' shape while she looked as if she were going to throw up and kill Harley. It was right about then, when Dawn thought the most menacing thing she had ever thought. _Kill him, Ash. Kill him for making a girl go through that. I want it to be painful, too. _She frowned at herself.

May took Ash's arm in her hand.

"Please stop now, Ash, I want you to be okay."

"May, think about what he did to you." Ash said sternly. That was when May pulled herself forward and pressed his lips against hers. The third kiss they'd ever shared, and May acknowledged how much better this was than the kiss from Harley.

Brock was thinking about how much Ash had grown, and how much May had taught him about being mature, about love, and such.

Dawn was staring at the ground and pretending not to look, but she could see them out of the corner of her eye. She secretly wished she could have a relationship like that.

Gary was staring at Ash and May themselves and feeling happy for his old rival.

"Go, Cacturne!" Harley called out his pokemon. Ash pulled away from May and grinned. Dawn grinned too, because she knew Harley had made the wrong decision, but that was good for Ash. Ash was amazing at battling, and anyone that knew him would tell you the same thing. Plus the fact Ash had an Infernape.

"Go, Infernape!"

"Cacturne, Bullet Seed." The attack collided with Infernape, but it just stood and took it.

"Flame wheel." Infernape readied the attack, and didn't even bother with full power.

"Dodge it!" Harley shouted. Cacturne did jump out of the way just in time, and Harley looked rather pleased with himself, until Infernape turned, still in the flame wheel, and smacked straight into Cacturne. The pokemon fainted straight away. No ifs, no buts, Ash was the better trainer.

"How..." Harley said, bewildered. "Lucky shot, must of hit my Cacturne's weak spot..."

Ash stepped forward and Harley toppled backwards, making Dawn's eyes widen. He looked at Harley again.

"Don't come near May again." Ash never thought of himself as violent, and he wouldn't call this violent either, but it really was. He would never do this to someone if he wasn't really angry, and Brock knew this best. "Or I'll kill you."

Harley lay still on the ground for a moment and stood up. It was a strange sight, seeing him run away. Well, it was funny, until Ash passed out.

"Ah, shit!" Gary cursed and ran over. "Brock, call Nurse Joy!"

"Uh, yeah, of course." Brock stumbled and pulled out his phone. No one wondered how he got this specials Nurse Joy's number on his phone.

"What's the matter with him?" Dawn asked as she ran over to him too.

"I don't know, Dawn. Maybe it has something to do with the fact he nearly died earlier?" That sounded a little sarcastic and Dawn didn't like it. She kept her mouth shut because she'd seen Brock get angry and upset in a situation like this before.

Nurse Joy showed up just ten minutes later, with her ambulance, because she was hardly going to carry Ash back. Gary helped them get Ash inside, and May followed soon after. She hadn't said anything since he had dropped to the floor, because she was so afraid that something was going to be wrong. What if Ash had a concussion? What if he died?

The Pokemon Centre was just five minutes away, which was good for May. She felt sick, and she only wanted to know if he was going to be okay. Brock showed up five minutes after than with Dawn, Gary and Drew. May knew she should ask if Drew was okay, but she didn't. He looked fine.

May didn't notice the Pikachu running in the room just moments after the lot of them were gathered in the waiting room. This reminded her a lot of the time she sat with Ash and waited for news about Misty.

"Pikaa!" Pikachu jumped on Brock, making him jump. Brock seemed to calm down and look confused.

"Oh, Pikachu, I forgot you were following us. Where did you go?" Brock asked the small mouse.

"Pika!" He pointed to the door. Someone was approaching it. Of course, it was only Jessie, except she looked slightly happy.

"I have great news for you twerps..." She trailed off, using the old insult. She pulled her mobile out of her pocket and shook it in front of her.

"Good news? I don't know how anything could possibly be good news..." Brock frowned, and May joined in.

"Oh, well, I'm sure you'll want to hear this..."

"Just tell us already, will you?" Drew snapped. Jessie looked at him with a look of annoyance. It was an awkward stare down.

"Okay, keep your shirt on, grass mop." May giggled a bit, for the first time all day. "What did you call the red haired twerp again?"

Brock's head snapped up. "Misty, why?"

"Well, she's not dead."

Nobody spoke and nobody moved. Brock's face suddenly elated slightly. The straightforward sentence had just changed everyone's day.

"Wait, wha.."

"Joy called me to tell you it was a miracle she survived and she's able to come out today..."

"Wait, what!? She fell from the sky just yesterday! She must be in a bad state!" Brock shouted.

"Like Joy said... a miracle. She hasn't even got a broken bone any more. They found her sat up in her bed just an hour after you left, looking as normal as people come."

"Is she going to come straight here?" Brock asked happily. May was happy too, but she found it extremely hard to smile. She was ready to cry with joy, but her mouth couldn't move from that frown that was plastered there.

"I can ask them to send her here, if you like..."

"Thanks a lot, Jessie."

"Ugh, no problem. Have you seen James, by the way?"

"Sorry, I haven't. May, Drew?" Brock looked at the two, but they both shook their heads. Jessie waved goodbye and left the centre.

"Brock, is this even possible? Do you think Jessie lied to us?" Gary asked, looking generally serious.

"I know Jessie was part of Team Rocket before, but I'm sure she wasn't lying. I don't know how it's possible, the only thing I can think of is if maybe Celebi or one of the lake trio helped her recover..."

"I never thought... I'm so glad she's going to be okay though!" Dawn grinned. "How long until she gets here, do you think?"

"They might give her a lift from there to here, if so, ten minutes, perhaps?" Brock answered.

"I still can't believe they're letting her go."

"They probably couldn't find anything wrong with her at all." Brock scratched his head. "That's why I think she may have been helped by someone. She'll have been resting all day though. She probably wants to come see us..."

"Then we should just sit here and wait?" Dawn asked impatiently. May still found it hard to even talk to her friends.

"So Brock..." Gary started randomly, looking awkwardly at the ceiling. Brock raised an eyebrow.

"Don't bother, Gary." Dawn laughed at Brock's last sentence. May didn't understand what they were laughing about, but tried to join in anyway.

"May, are you okay?" Dawn asked once the laughing subsided.

"I'm fine, just worried." She faked a smile that seemed to satisfy her friends. In the silence, they all sat and waited for news from Nurse Joy and an unexpected call from Misty.

Both arrived just ten minutes later, like Brock said. Misty came first, walking in the room and looking like nothing had happened. They all just sat and looked at each other for a moment, before they all ran over for hugs. May couldn't help but see the image of her on the ground when she fell, and then now.

May hugged her last, and Misty held this one for longer. Probably because she could see May was upset.

"Misty, don't do that to us again." Dawn frowned and wiped her eye.

"Hey, you guys are going all soft on me." She laughed a little. "Why are you here? Where's Ash? I want to see him."

"Well, Ash is kind of the reason we're here..." Brock's voice was quiet. So quiet that Misty just managed to make out what he said.

"They got him, didn't they!?" She looked between them.

"No, no. Not really. It's a long story, I think you should sit down."

Misty sat and Brock began telling her the story in the shortest way he could.

"After you.. well, we thought you were dead, Ash went into a kind of depression and while he was out with May, Dialga took her to the Team Rocket HQ, which was when I came in. Then we battled Giovanni, who was controlling Mewtwo, and he told us the whole legend was a lie. There is no legend, and it was only Giovanni wanting to face Ash. Giovanni blew up the building and we though Ash was dead, but he wasn't." Misty was listening very closely, in case she missed something important. It was a lot to take in. "Then we battled the legendaries and we all won, except Mewtwo carried Ash away in a psychic attack. When we all got there, Ash was literally rolling around on the floor fighting with this guy called Harley and... the reason they were fighting is because he tried to rape May..." Misty looked in horror at May, who was looking away deliberately. "... and Ash passed out after Harley ran away."

"I can't believe it..." Misty started. "If I ever see him, he's dead! Are you okay now, May?" May nodded slightly.

"The good thing is, you know Ash cares now, or he wouldn't of gotten in that fight for you."

"I knew he cared anyway." May smiled. Before Misty could ask what she meant, Nurse Joy emerged from a room with a clipboard and Chansey following her like a shadow.

"Ash is going to be okay." Everyone sighed with relief and even May's face lifted. "His injuries are minor, and nothing serious. You can go in now."

"I think May or Misty should go in first." Brock looked at the two girls.

"You can go first, May." May didn't argue and began trotting over to Ash's room happily. She entered to find him sitting upright on his bed with his normal clothes on, and even his hat.

"Hey, Ash." He looked up at her and the two met for a hug in the middle of the room. It was a heartfelt hug, from both sides. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"You too."

Even now, May found it hard to say the words every girl says. The silence was consuming the room. "I love you." She finally sobbed over his shoulder.

"I love you too, May."

May pulled away slowly.

"There's someone outside that wants to see you."

"Oh, Dawn?" Ash guessed as they headed for the door, hand in hand.

"Nope."

"Brock then." He smiled to himself.

"Still wrong..." May giggled as she pulled open the door and Ash and Misty's eyes met. For a moment, Ash looked at her like he was going crazy, or he was dreaming, but then she came over and hugged him, and he hugged her back.

"What's going on?" Ash sort-of-whispered over Misty's shoulders at Brock.

"Ash, thanks for trying to save me when Giratina dropped me. I knew the two of us would be too heavy for Staraptor, but the fact that you tried..." Misty blushed slightly, not being used to talking like this. She was used to her usual tomboy attitude, but it had all faded away. For now. "Anyway, how didn't you get hurt?"

In unison, Ash and May looked at one another and Ash rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Well, you see, May kind of caught me."

"Guys," Brock stopped their conversation and all attention turned to him. "I don't mean to be rude but... shouldn't we be stopping Mewtwo?"

Ash looked dumbstruck for a second, then began running for the pokemon centre door.

"Hang on Ash!" Brock shouted "I meant us, not you! You're still hurt!" Ash paid no attention to his stressed friend. It wasn't ignorant, it was understandable.

Misty and May followed close behind, and Drew, Brock and Gary soon after. Brock still felt weird seeing Misty running so casually when just a day ago she was in such a mess...

Ash always ran straight into trouble. He didn't care that the sky was beginning to darken, or that the wind was causing everyone to feel freezing outdoors. Especially Misty in them shorts.

Nonetheless, they were standing in the 'field' they had been in previously, dealing with the trouble Ash had led them into. They were lost, and they had no idea where Mewtwo was. Of course it wouldn't be far away, but there was still a lot of ground the cover. It was almost 9pm, and none of them were worried about the battle with Mewtwo. They forgot again, that even if they did win, there was more than one way to lose.

"May," Ash turned to her. "I want you to go home now." Ash told her. She stared at him blankly for a few moments.

"What!? Are you crazy? No." She crossed her arms.

"May, your Mom and Dad will be going crazy with worry, considering the last thing they saw was you chasing a Giratina. Max is going to be worried too. I think you should take Misty too, she's freezing." Ash laughed a bit. Misty looked down and noticed her whole legs were covered in goosebumps. Very noticeable goosebumps. She looked embarrassed at May. Ash, Brock, Drew, Dawn and Gary? They wouldn't need any help, and as selfish as it felt, Misty really wanted warmth.

"He has a good point, May." Dawn nodded.

"What are you talking about, Dawn, you're going too." Drew snorted. He pointed at her own arms and legs. She was cold too, in her dress.

"Okay, okay. Ash, I want you to promise me you'll be back by tomorrow noon?" May pleaded. She wanted to hug or kiss him, but with everyone watching it seemed like a bad idea.

"I promise."

May, Misty and Dawn began to leave, but May hugged Ash before they left. Once the two were finished saying goodbye, Ash, Gary, Drew and Brock stalked off into the darkness, with Brock saying something about Mewtwo being close.

Misty was leading the group when they saw the familiar buildings of Petalburg city, and it occurred to May that she hadn't been home in almost three days. She wondered what had happened about the wall that had been knocked down, and she wondered how her brother, Mom and Dad were keeping. The excitement drove her to the front door of the building quicker than she had expected. They had rebuilt the wall already and a new door had been fitted. The Petalburg gym sign wasn't up yet, but she didn't care. She grabbed the handle and pushed open the door.

Max was the only one in the room, and he was in the fridge. He hadn't noticed her come in, and seemed to be looking for something to eat. He grabbed something, but May couldn't see what it was because it was so dark in the room. He closed the door and turned around, and saw the silhouette at the door.

"Ah, burglars!" He screamed. May panicked and ran and put her hand over his mouth. She didn't want him to wake her Mom. Dawn flicked on the lights and Max stopped flailing. May let him go and he turned around to face her.

"May?" He looked up at her in awe. He was now 13, and not that much smaller than her. As embarrassing as it was, he hugged her around the waist happily.

"Sibling love." Misty smiled and flopped on the sofa. "I wonder if the boys are okay." She wondered randomly.

"Hey May, where's Ash? Are you two still arguing or...?" Max began stubbing his feet against the floor.

"No, Max, we're not arguing." May blushed slightly and Misty laughed. "And he's going to be gone for a day, maybe two..." She trailed off.

"Huh, why? And who's that?" Max pointed to Misty on the sofa.

"That has a name!" Misty shouted from the sofa, not even bothering to look up.

"Yeah, it would help if I knew that name!" Max shouted back. It was good that Max had forgotten about his first question. May got the feeling that Max was starting to like Ash, as a friend. Even though they had only known each other for a few days.

"The name's Misty and I'm a water pokemon master." Misty said, rather boastfully. "Oh yeah, and this is Dawn." She added dully. Dawn waved.

"Misty's a dumb name." Max chortled. Misty jumped off the sofa and chased Max around the room.

"I'll show you dumb, you little..."

"May, can I talk to you, for a moment?" Dawn motioned for May to sit next to her. They would have privacy for a while, since Misty had chased Max into the garden and was probably trying to strangle him.

"Yeah, I guess."

Dawn cleared her throat, as if preparing for a speech. "I'm sorry for what I acted like when we first met, May. I acted like a spoiled child, all because I thought I liked Ash. I knew something was going on between you two, even if Ash was too dumb to realise it. Then at the funeral, Drew told me he told you what we did, and I'm sorry about that too. It was wrong of me to use Ash like that. I knew I didn't like him, but I did it for Drew anyway, and that was stupid. Drew loves you lots, you know."

May seemed a little taken back. "No, he doesn't, Dawn."

"What?"

"Nothing, but thanks anyway Dawn. I think we should try again. Try and get along. I never liked fighting with you."

"Yeah, I never liked fighting either." Dawn stuck her hand out and May shook it. "Friends?"

"Sure."

The door burst open and Max scrambled in and jumped behind the sofa.

"May, that girl is a beast!" He called. May chuckled at him as Misty entered calmly, smiling.

"I don't think your brother will be calling my name dumb again." She snickered evilly. May and Dawn giggled a bit.

"So May, you never told me where Ash went..."

…

"Drew, watch where you're going." Ash snapped slightly when Drew bumped into him for the fourth time.

"Maybe you should stop stopping in front of me!" Drew snapped back. Gary and Brock looked irritated at the two. This wasn't the time for arguments.

"Maybe you shoul-"

"Will you both shut up and try and get along, please?" Brock suggested. Drew scoffed and continued to walk. Ash pretended to look at the map, but he was really just annoyed. Brock's phone buzzed and he grabbed it quickly and nearly dropped it. Ash thought this was weird, but said nothing.

"Oh, should of known they would text."

**Are you getting anywhere yet? I think Misty may murder May's brother by tommorow morning.**

Brock read the message to Ash, who wanted to text back, but wasn't going to get the honour. Drew stuck his tongue out like a kid.

**We haven't found Mewtwo yet. Ash and Drew won't stop arguing, but we'll get there eventually.**

****.

**Tell Drew to leave Ash alone and get on with finding Mewtwo like he should be doing,**

**May.**

It seemed May had stolen Dawn's phone. Brock told Drew exactly what May had said, which left him half annoyed at May and half annoyed at Ash who was snickering.

"Wait guys, shut up." Gary said blankly. Brock was about to swear at him, before he realised what he meant. When they listened carefully, they could hear screaming in the distance. It sounded like a man screaming, but it was still quite feminine.

"Hurry!" Gary shouted back as they rushed past trees, pushed back branches and made a boat load of noise.

The next thing they saw was unexpected.

They came to another gap in the trees, and they were expecting Mewtwo.

But they weren't expecting Mewtwo to have Harley by the neck.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, that was chapter 18. I hope you guys liked it, and if you didn't, don't be afraid to say. I know the chapter moved fast, and the stuff may have went slightly past pg-13. <strong>

**Please review! Thanks,**

**Infernape**


	19. Endgame

**As I promised, the final chapter is here, and I am happy to announce that it is the longest yet, beating 18 by 500 words. So this chapter, without the messages included, is 7,864 words long. **

**I'm not really happy with it, and I think I went a bit off topic, but I don't have time to re-write it. **

**Anyway, I have decided that I will definitely write a sequel, but if no one bothers to read it i'll stop. I hope you guys review this chapter. Flames accepted.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>. : Chapter 18 : .<p>

Sitting at home, knowing the people you love are fighting isn't the best thing in the world. Especially when they've been gone for 6 hours, and still haven't returned.

May was worried sick, and despite the situation, bored. Max was driving her nuts with questions. Her parents were constantly bugging her. Even Misty was annoying at this time.

"At least _I _don't have a name like 'Misty'! Ha!" She heard Max shout from the kitchen, followed by a loud clatter and bang. She buried her face in her hands and sighed. Would this ever end?

"Take that back, you little twerp!"

May became lost in her thoughts once more and pushed the argument to the back of her mind, so that she couldn't hear anything but happy thoughts…

"May?" Dawn broke her trance. Her head bolted up and met Dawn's glassy eyes. "I think maybe I should go searching for Ash…"

"No." Misty also appeared, leaning against door frame. May had gotten the idea earlier, and decided that if he wasn't back later, she'd go looking. Maybe they should go…

"He told us not to go. They're okay, I can feel it." She gave a weak smile, before Max pushed her out of the way, watching her fall over and smirking. "Push me one more time and I swear, I will kill you."

"Why're you so worried, May?" Max questioned, plucking food from the fridge. "Last time I saw you, you hated Ash."

May's mind took her back to the time when Ash had first come to the gym with her. She cringed. Then she started thinking about Ash, and how much they'd gone through, and-

She burst out in tears.

"Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to make you cry!" He dropped his food and ran over. He turned to face Misty. "What did I say?"

Misty coughed slightly and sat on the sofa next to him. "Well Max, do you know what it means when you say you 'date someone'?"

...

The field was crimson with the blood of them. The three bodies lying on the floor. The one figure kneeling breathlessly by his friend. The blood of the four Pokémon that had recently flew away above them all, weak, but still fighting.

Ash's legs struggled to keep him up. His knees buckled and he collapsed on the ground, helplessly breathing onto the grass. Maybe if scum Harley hadn't run away as soon as they rescued him.

_Mewtwo tightened his grip on Harley's neck and laughed._

"_I knew it, you're too innocent." He cackled. "This boy tried to rape your girlfriend, but you still care if he dies. I can feel your pain." _

_Ash took a step forward. "I don't care what you do with him." He scoffed. "But I do care what you do to the world."_

_Mewtwo smirked, sending shivers down his back. "Well, if you insist." He continued to tighten his grip on Harley, choking him in mid-air. Brock, Drew and Gary turned away, but Ash couldn't. His eyes were glued onto the murderous sight in front of him. Slowly, he began to become angry. Rage was building up inside of him, making him tense up. _

"_Stop!" He shouted, closing his eyes and gritting his teeth. "Leave him be."_

"_Oh, so you don't care, do you not? I do love playing with human emotions. See, I bet you would care if I did this instead." An image appeared of May, May laughing, and running alongside a boy, with white hair, a red headband, and the same colour clothes. In fact, they weren't just running alongside each other. They were holding hands. They flopped onto the grass and stared into each other's eyes…_

_Ash shot at Mewtwo, his punch aimed for its stomach, but Mewtwo just pushed him back._

"_Emotions are wrong. People shouldn't feel for another person. Love and friendship only get in the way, and end up hurting. That's why you're foolish, for that wasn't conjured up by me. It was an image from the future."_

_Ash froze. His heart sank and his eyebrows narrowed. He stared up at the Pokémon in front of him. "You're lying."_

"_Why would I lie to you?" It shouted, its voice suddenly full of hatred. "This is why I never learned to love. It's stupid. Even if you live today, she'll be the death of you!" It laughed, almost like a maniac. "That's why you should join me. Leave her, and your friends, because one day…." He smiled at them all. "One day they will all leave you."_

"_What makes you so sure!?" Brock suddenly spoke up. "I know what I will and won't do!"_

"_I can see the future, Ash." He said, ignoring Brock. "One friend will hand you over to an enemy. One will abandon you for love and try to steal something from you. One will drift away because they won't have time for you." It still hovered slightly above the ground. "And that's only the people I can see now." _

_Ash was speechless. He knew Mewtwo wasn't lying this time, but why would his friends do that? He could understand the last one, but who would hand him over to the enemy, and who would steal something from him? Should he trust his friends anymore? _

"_Join me?" _

"_Ash…" Brock began, stepping forward. "You know I won't betray you, after all these years…"_

"_Shut up." Ash muttered. He turned to face Mewtwo. "And no. Nothing you can say will make me fall for your trickery."_

"_Then we shall fight, and you will fall." _

_Ash reached for his first pokeball…_

Now, six hours later, after the longest battle he had ever faced, Ash was left for dead in the same clearing, with his friends scattered around him.

For a moment, all he could do was continue to breathe and feel dead. Pain spread up his arms and legs, and left him unable to move without being completely engulfed by it. Sadness began to creep over him. Mewtwo was nowhere to be seen, and neither were his comrades. For all he knew, they could have been destroying cities as he lay. He had been out cold for a good two hours, at least.

With a sudden surge of hope, he pressed his hands against the cold, damp grass and pushed himself up. He struggled to his feet and looked down at his friends on the floor.

"_One day they will all leave you." _The sentence echoed at the back of his head, repeating itself over and over again. But he had been stupid to even consider this. His friends would never leave him. Still, there was that image of May, in the fields…

Ash hurried over to Gary and shook him. Realizing he was getting it all wrong, he stopped and tore a bit of cloth from the spare t-shirt in his bag and wrapped it around the gash on Gary's arm. He wished he had something to wash the wound with first.

Then Drew stirred. Ash hated to have to tend to Drew's wound too, but he still did the same as he did with Gary. Drew was on the edge of consciousness, and winced as the material was pressed against his own wounds. Except Drew's wounds were inflicted by fire.

"…Ash?" Gary sat up, rubbing his head. He peered at the bandage on his arm.

"I'm here." Ash waved a little, but his arms still hurt. Gary's eyes wandered for a moment before meeting Ash's. He began to stand, but Ash shook his head, and Gary sat back down. As he watched Ash continue to bandage Drew, and then Brock up, his hand sneakily reached for the phone in his back pocket.

It was as expected. Ash was too busy helping other people, he forgot about his own problems. He finished bandaging Brock up and began rummaging through his bag. He reached something in the bag, and stared blankly at it for a moment. Then, without warning, he collapsed forward.

Gary ripped the phone out of his pocket and shakily dialled a familiar number. Just a few seconds later, he received an answer.

...

"I still don't get it." Max scratched his head, and Misty face palmed.

"I'm tired of this. Basically, your sister and Ash are boyfriend and girlfriend." She exploded. May had long since left the room, and Dawn was silently watching the TV.

Max was silent for a moment. "You mean… They kiss and stuff!?" He stuck out his tongue and genuinely looked sick.

"Yes Max, they kiss and stuff. The reason your sister is so worried because she loves Ash, you see." Misty smiled.

"You mean, like she loves her Pokémon?" Max's face screwed up, as if he was concentrating.

"Probably more. I don't know."

Up in her bedroom, May thought to herself about things she hadn't had a chance to think about before.

Then, she stopped and listened. She checked again. She was definitely right. Downstairs, her phone was ringing.

Excited, but scared, she hopped up and bounded down the stairs, only to find that Misty had already answered it.

"Whoa, whoa. Calm down, wait a sec." She turned on the loud speaker, and everyone was greeted immediately by Gary's babbling voice.

"What's the matter?" Misty asked, and May became a statue, frozen in place. She feared the worst, and all the possible outcomes started listing themselves in her head.

"Mewtwo, it was too strong, and it had help. We couldn't hold it off. Brock and Drew are nearly awake." Gary's voice was full of panic.

"What about Ash?" Misty asked. A lump formed in May's throat and she choked on some silent tears.

"He bandaged up me, Drew and Brock. Then I noticed there was something wrong with him, and he passed out. I need help!" May let loose a noise like a mouse squeaking.

"Also, Mewtwo showed us the future. Not the important one. But apparently May's going to end up with someone else. Just thought you might want to know, in case we don't make it back."

"Don't talk like that, we'll come and help you. Right now." Misty reassured him, but May was confused. Mewtwo had foreseen that she would be with another person? No way would she ever leave Ash for anyone. Not unless, perhaps…

"May!" Dawn called angrily from the door. May hurried out, and the four of them, including an un-noticed Max, raced their way towards the forest.

...

Going after Mewtwo straight away would be suicide. As much as Gary hated it, they would have to heal first.

He could hear them approaching. Their footsteps echoed in the silence, as they trampled on twigs and dead leaves. He sighed lightly with relief and looked back down at the boy in front of him. The boy he hated so much when he was little. The boy he had been a rival to for years, battling him competitively.

Dawn burst through the bushes first, and fell on her knees beside Drew. May jogged through the bushes straight for Ash. She was crying already, but she only became worse when she saw him. But in her mind, she also felt relief. She was beginning to think he wouldn't make it back at all.

"What happened here?" Misty approached slowly. Her calmness surprised May.

"Well, we…" Gary began. "We were attacked, by Mewtwo, Zapdos, Moltres and Articuno. We rescued Harley, but he was no help…"

"Wait… Harley!?" May shouted, looking offended.

"Yeah. Mewtwo was strangling him. For a moment, I thought Ash would just let him die, but he didn't. The battle lasted 4 hours. It was really close, but Mewtwo wasn't involved much. Then, out of nowhere, he just… released all of his power. I woke up half an hour ago. Ash was bandaging Brock up. He'd already bandaged me up. I guess he didn't realize his own condition." Gary frowned down at Ash. May followed his gaze and cursed Ash for being so helpful and kind.

"And just like that mistakes are made." Misty whispered and knelt beside him, shaking her head.

"We need to get him back to the gym." Gary muttered. The problem was who was going to carry Brock and Drew.

"I've got Drew." Dawn announced. She was, surprisingly, strong enough to carry him bridal style in her arms, where he hung limply.

"If you can carry Ash, I reckon I could get Brock." Misty smiled at May. She suddenly regretted saying that.

May lifted Ash with a little difficulty. The first few times, she had to put him back down. Then she finally lifted him properly, assuring everyone she was fine. She wasn't known for being very strong. Ash was.

The walk back took longer, due to the extra weight, but halfway there, Brock woke. He was embarrassed that Misty had been carrying him, but she didn't care. She didn't care about most things. After a trek through the forest and city, they finally arrived at the gym, where May begin jogging to get upstairs quicker.

"I'll let you rest." She spoke to the unconscious Ash in her arms as she laid him on her bed. She pulled a seat up beside the bed and sat beside him. She sat stroking his hair for a while, before sleep crept unexpectedly to her, pulling her into the darkness.

Dawn set Drew down in the guest room, wiping her forehead with her arm. She was about to leave, when she noticed him twitch. It was just a slight movement of his hands.

"Drew?"

"Huh?" He jolted upright and cringed at the pain in his ribs.

"Don't strain yourself." She warned, like a concerned mother. "Rest."

Drew ignored her command. He opened his eyes and stared back at her. Dawn shivered slightly at the look in his eyes. He wasn't completely 'with it' yet. She rolled her eyes, and turned to leave, but he took hold of her arm.

The room was suddenly silent. Their faces hovered just inches away from each other. Every breath could be counted and heard. Dawn could almost hear Drew's heart racing. Her problem was that hers wasn't. She wondered if he was going to kiss her, but she didn't feel much but wonder. She was like a curious child, staring back at him.

And then, he took his chances, and pulled her in. Their lips met briefly. It was just a short kiss. That was when Dawn's heart finally started racing.

"I just had to try that." Drew smiled sheepishly.

"I'm glad you did." Dawn blushed beetroot red.

"…Really?"

"…"

Dawn suddenly stood up. "I'm sorry." She began to leave, but Drew still wasn't done. Desperate to keep her there with him, he blurted out;

"I love you."

...

May woke the next morning, only to find the bed beside her empty. Ash had woken while she was asleep, and she hadn't gotten the chance to explain to him or check if he was okay. What if he had a concussion or something?

She stalked along the corridor. In the guest room, one bed was filled by Brock. The other was empty. Misty, Drew and Dawn were probably downstairs.

But none of them were. May stuck her head around the corner to check her living room. It was empty, but a note lay on the table. She snatched it up, worried it was from Ash, and read it aloud.

"May, I've gone… grocery shopping? I was careful not to wake your mom and Ash. Drew and Dawn went for a walk. Be back soon. Misty." She folded the note and stuffed it in her pocket. So Ash had woken up not long ago, or Misty would be back.

She wandered into the kitchen, where he was sitting at the dining table, looking lost. She glided over to him and sat. He just sat there, looking at the wall.

"I was too weak to stop him." His face screwed up.

"The three legendary birds showed up, Ash. You weren't expecting them. It's okay." May placed her hands over Ash's, but he pulled them away almost immediately.

"No, it's not. He could be doing anything right now. It's my fault." He shoved his face in his hands angrily.

"Listen, Ash. It's not your fault."

"Of course it is, Brock, Gary and Drew were-" May cut him off by pulling him in for a kiss. He calmed down straight away.

"You need to heal up before we try again. This time, I'm coming." She crossed her arms to prove a point. Ash smiled lightly at her, and was about to say something, when Misty burst in.

"I'm going to make Brock's special stew for you!" She beamed, squealing excitedly. Ash's face turned to a look of horror. He looked at May and shook his head as a warning.

"Now, what does he add first again?" She picked among the ingredients, as Ash and May slowly left the room.

"There's nothing wrong with me, May." He tried to convince her as they glided out of the door. May slid her hand into his.

"You can't fool me."

They walked for a while in silence. Neither had any idea where they were going. May could feel Ash's longing to go back to Mewtwo and defeat him. They could go, but Brock wasn't even awake yet. Who knows what Drew was like? She decided they should at least wait for tomorrow.

"You know, when I met you…" May started, hating the silence. "I had already met Dawn. I didn't like her, so I had this image in my head of what you would be like."

"You'd met Dawn?" Ash turned to her.

"I met Paul first. I was lost, and he asked to go for ice cream. I let him take me, but then we heard… well, you. But I didn't know it was you." May confused herself and stopped for a moment. "Anyway, I asked if we should go help, but he said you were just a bunch of losers."

"That's Paul." Ash frowned.

"I left him eventually because he was being a snob. Then I saw the commotion, whatever the heck that puddle thing was." Ash didn't know why she was telling him the story, but he didn't mind. He liked hearing it from her point of view.

"I met Brock then; I was asking him something about Dawn… I don't remember. Later that day, I couldn't help myself, I touched the puddle thing." She poked the air with her finger. "And that's when I met you."

"I'll never forget that bit." He smiled at her.

"I just want you to know, as soon as I saw you…" She forgot how to word it and pulled a strange face, which Ash chuckled at. She smiled up at him. "I knew you weren't those things I thought you would be. In fact, it was almost love at first sight." The last part made her feel a little awkward, and she shuffled her feet a bit.

"Me too." Ash surprised her. "Because I was always so clueless about that stuff." He laughed. "But if I hadn't loved you straight away, I would never have agreed to meet you."

May pulled Ash in for a kiss, but he looked elsewhere. She was about to complain, but then she followed his gaze, and her eyes landed on Drew and Dawn. They were walking, holding hands, looking straight at Ash. What they saw was him, leaning down to May, but looking at them.

"Ash! Hi!" Dawn waved. Ash just raised an eyebrow.

"Drew?" May asked. "Dawn?"

May was suddenly concerned. Ash looked slightly upset. Why would he be upset about this? Why was she upset about this?

"Are you and Dawn…?" May asked finally.

"I suppose so." He chuckled a bit. Ash stayed silent. The reason he was upset was not because he still felt for Dawn. It was because he had always thought Drew was going to be trouble, and the fact that they just disliked each other didn't help.

Drew smirked. _Now you know what I felt like when you were sucking up to May._

Then something hit Ash. He remembered before the battle, for the first time since he woke up. He remembered talking to Mewtwo. Mewtwo had asked him to join its side. It had shown Ash the vision of May…

And it hadn't been lying.

Ash pulled his hand away from May, turned, and ran off in the direction they had just come from.

"Ash!? Where are you going?" May called, chasing after him. Drew was pleased with himself, thinking he was the reason Ash ran away. Then he realized Dawn had run off too.

"Ash, what are you doing?" May said between breaths as she burst through the door of the gym. Dawn struggled to stop her running legs, and bumped into May, sending the two of them flying through the door. Ash was calmly talking to Brock in the living room. They could hear them. They stayed on the floor, trying not to make any noise.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"But I'm sure she wouldn't do that."

For a moment, they both thought he was talking about Dawn dating Drew.

"Mewtwo can see the future, Brock. I just want to leave before she does."

"Just me and you? Maybe if Mewtwo's alone…"

May scrambled up and hid behind the kitchen wall. Dawn didn't manage to get up in time.

"What're you doing on the floor?" Brock raised an eyebrow as he and Ash entered the room. Dawn smiled sheepishly.

"I fell over. Where are you going?" She stood up and brushed herself off.

"We're leaving."

"You can't!" May burst in and took hold of his arm. Brock looked away, knowing this was going to be an argument of some sort.

Drew arrived finally at the door, bent over and panting.

"Wow, you really can run fast when you want to."

"I think we should go too." Dawn ignored him. "I mean, what good are we doing just hanging around?"

May tried to come up with a valid argument, but it seemed Dawn was correct this time. They really were doing no good. May was just trying to hang back as long as possible. Did this make her a coward? Or did she just not want to lose Ash?

Ash pulled back his arm and rubbed it. May's grip had left a red mark, but she hadn't meant to hurt him.

"You shouldn't come, Dawn." Ash started, still rubbing his arm slightly. "Wouldn't want you getting hurt."

"And who says I would get hurt?" She placed her hands on her hips. "I'm not just a pretty face, you know."

Drew snorted.

"This may sound stupid but," Brock cleared his throat, "I think it would be best if us four boys went again."

"And get beaten again?" Dawn laughed. "I don't think so."

"And you won't stop me from coming this time either." May finally spoke. "It can't be much more dangerous than being in a building rigged with bombs."

"Uh May… I seriously think you should stay behind this time."

"Why, Brock?"

That was when he appeared unexpectedly. In fact, they were so absorbed in their argument, they hardly noticed him there.

He clutched his side painfully. The stitch hurt as if he'd been shot.

Not far behind him, a Pokémon hunted. It was looking for him. He would pay for catching its baby.

The boy neared the gym, not caring about which building it was anymore. He was nearing the door, he would make it. The Pokémon closed in behind him, and he did the least sane thing to do.

He pushed the door open, scrambled inside, and slammed it shut again.

He noticed the six people straight away and regretted his decision. The good thing was, they hadn't heard him come in. He couldn't go back outside, so he stayed pressed against the door for a few moments and inspected the people in front of him.

There was a blue haired girl sitting on the sofa with her face buried in her hands. A green haired boy sat facing away from him, possibly watching the girl. A brown haired tall boy was talking to a ginger teen girl at the table. But the thing he noticed first was Ash Ketchum and a brown haired girl shouting at each other.

His jaw dropped open. Ash Ketchum! He had watched him on TV every time he competed in a league. He had heard Ash was competing in the Sinnoh league and was sure he was going to win. But if he was competing in the Sinnoh league, what was he doing here?

He had a sudden urge to ask for an autograph, but he seemed… a little busy.

"I thought you trusted me! If you really did, you wouldn't believe it!" The girl dressed in red shouted at him.

"I don't know, May." He said, a little calmer than before. "Mewtwo wasn't lying. Maybe he meant when I die..."

"You're not going to die."

Die? What was this?

"If I have to, to destroy Mewtwo… It would be a small price, really."

"Even if you did die, I wouldn't…"

"Oh, so what, I imagined it? That's the only other option." Ash threw up his arms.

"Is it even that much of a problem?" The girl retaliated. The boy didn't know what was going on, but he could tell that last sentence hurt Ash. He looked deeply offended.

"How could you ask me that? I've only ever cared for you."

"If you care for me, you'll listen to me. Let me come with you, if you must leave." She turned to face the door. To face him.

_Crap._

The girls jaw dropped. Ash turned to see what was interesting.

His face turned pale.

"You."

Just as May thought she had gotten through to Ash, he turned up. She wasn't sure who he was, but Ash seemed to know him. Why was he at her door, though?

"Me?" He asked in a small voice. "I'm sorry for breaking in, it's just I was being chased by a…" He trailed off when he realized that the green haired boy and the taller one were giving him the same, shocked look. "By a Pokémon…" He whispered.

"Oh…" Brock bit his lip.

"Hell…" Drew finished.

"Who are you?" May asked irritably.

"My name is Brendan." He smiled sheepishly. "I think I'll leave now."

"Wait!" May squinted. "Ash, is this…"

Ash nodded.

May stared.

Then she started to cry.

"Maybe now that you know, you can stop it!"

"You know what?" Ash started, and began to walk towards Brendan. "Let's just go."

The group of people formed a line behind him, walking out of the door, except the girl, who was still crying.

"Are you okay?" He wanted to approach her, but how could he be sure she was friendly?

"No." She snapped, suddenly looking up. "Move." She pushed past him and ran out of the door. Not sure of what else to do, Brendan turned and followed.

...

Ash had realized he was being selfish. As painful as it was, he knew that the most important thing was Mewtwo, and not May. He wasn't going to waste time arguing with her, or with Brendan. He just needed to defeat Mewtwo, and then he could do whatever he wanted. Perhaps he could make it back to Sinnoh in time for the league. If he even made it back at all.

Where should he look? He was pretty sure Mewtwo would make it obvious. The Pokémon wanted him dead, so where would he wait?

Then something clicked into his head. It didn't make sense, but if it wasn't important, then why did he just think it?

"I think I know where he is."

"How?" Brock asked.

"It's like he's calling to me." Ash placed his hands on his head. "Agh and it's giving me a headache."

"That can't be a good thing."

"It's just a headache."

"But what if it's not?"

"What do you mean?" Dawn interrupted.

"I mean, last time we were around Mewtwo, I had a headache too. It felt as if it were draining something, but I never got time to find out."

"But then, why did you feel it then and me now?" Ash suddenly stopped walking, and ignored May and Brendan appearing behind them.

"I don't know. Maybe it's nothing, but I suggest we hurry anyway. Where do you think he is?"

Now it felt as if there were a timer. Would something bad really happen if they weren't quick?

"This way." Ash began to run, only hearing his footsteps on the pavement, and ignoring the group behind him. He knew they could keep up, anyway.

His feet carried him through the streets of Petalburg. If they kept up this pace, they'd be there in no time. Weaving through dark alleys and trying not to know anyone over, he kept running. Was Mewtwo already killing people? It was a possibility. Then, he stopped. The group came to a halt behind him.

"What is going on here?" Brock squinted, but he couldn't see through the crowds. In the middle of Petalburg square, a crowd of maybe fifty people circled something.

"Wait a moment!" Brendan shouted from the back of the group. "What's going on!?" He asked between heavy breaths.

"Long story." Misty answered for him. "I would leave now if I were you."

"I don't get it, it says Mewtwo is right there." Ash began walking forward, but he didn't get far enough to see. He grabbed his head again and screamed.

"Ash!" Brock ran forward.

"It's okay." He said, standing but wincing. "Just a headache…"

"No, it's not just a headache. Maybe we should-" Dawn started.

"I'm not going anywhere."

A news reporter was standing behind the crowd, pointing to the amount of people and saying something they couldn't hear.

Putting his headache behind him, Ash began gliding over to the crowd. His friends protested, but this was more important than a headache. He approached the crowd, and began to push his way through. He expected to see someone passed out, or Mewtwo killing someone. Anything like that would have been normal for the situation. But what was really there was far, far worse.

Ash froze at the edge of it. Police banners surrounded it, warning him not to get any closer. He didn't want to get closer anyway, but a cold truth hit him. He was going to have to get closer.

Behind him, the crowd was leaving. They had gotten bored of staring at it. He heard the gasps of Brock, May, Dawn and Drew. But he couldn't move.

In front of him, lay a strange looking, purple puddle.

"No..." May whispered. "But why?"

"You can't go back down there Ash." Brock shook his head. "What if we can never get you back out?"

"Excuse me." Ash turned to a member of the crowd that had stayed. "What happened here?"

"Oh, I think someone fell down there. Apparently they saw the legendary Pokémon Mewtwo fly down there too, but that's probably just a rumour." She answered, smiling. Ash was not smiling.

"He's got someone down there." He turned to his friends, and turned away again. He took short steps, ducked under the barrier, and stopped at the edge of the puddle.

"Hey, look!" Someone shouted. "Kid, I'm going to have to ask you to step away." Ash turned to Jenny, giving her a look of despair.

"Wait, isn't that the same kid that fell at Sinnoh…?" She turned to Nurse Joy.

"Ash, what are you doing!?" May shouted and began to push her way through the group of friends. "Don't you dare!"

He smiled as she ran towards him. "I love you, May." And with that, took his final step.

Time seemed to slow as Ash fell towards the ground for the second time that month. He saw May's arm reach for him and her tears fall to the floor around her. He heard Dawn screaming and saw Drew grab her to stop her from running. Then he saw May reach out to touch the puddle as everything disappeared, and with the last of his strength, used his hand to knock hers away.

Then everything was gone, and he was falling again.

...

Just like last time, he awoke shortly after he hit the ground. His surroundings were different than they had been in Sinnoh, because he was below Hoenn instead. This time, however, he knew he wasn't getting out. He knew the entrance would close behind him. Somehow, he wasn't too bothered. Now all he had to do was find Mewtwo.

That wasn't hard.

He could hear the battle from where he landed. Explosions and shouting filled his ears. He heard Mewtwo's mocking laugh, and forced himself to stand and walk. A dull pain throbbed in his head, but not even half as bad as before.

The only thing he regretted was not being able to spend more time with May. He would never be able to get that time back, and they'd spent most of their last moments arguing.

Defying gravity, he jumped and floated slightly to reach another part of the ground. A building towered over him, but he passed through it, ignoring the things inside.

He wasn't surprised when he saw Giratina. It was with Mewtwo, ganging up on someone hiding behind a wall. Ash could see the shadow of his figure and guessed he was about eighteen.

"I know you're here. Are you going to come out?" Mewtwo spoke, but not to the other boy, to Ash. "It must have been hard leaving them all behind like that, but I knew you would. You're so predictable. How does it feel to know you'll never see them again?" Mewtwo turned and smiled at him, and not in a friendly way, either. So Mewtwo could sense where he was too. Ash was going to use the sensing thing as an advantage.

"Come and fight me for the last time, Ketchum, or are you too much of a coward?"

"Ash!?" The figure shouted, but didn't reveal himself. He didn't need to. Ash recognized the voice well. So Giovanni was too innocent to actually kill anyone. He was bluffing the whole time. There was just one confusing part- wasn't he buried?

"Paul!" Ash echoed across the large stretch of ground and stepped out into the light. As strange as it was, Ash wanted to hug Paul. How did he survive? Did Celebi help him too?

"Oh, how nice. You've met." Mewtwo smiled. "It'll hurt even more when I kill him in front of you too." He spoke to Paul, who was edging out of his hiding place slowly.

"You won't be killing anybody." Ash reached for his belt. On it hung six pokéballs, five ready for battle, but one empty…

"We'll see about that."

Mewtwo outstretched his arm and sent Ash flying out into the clearing. Panicking, Ash grabbed the first pokeball he felt and threw it. The day before, he had switched all his Pokémon out but one. And for the first time ever, he didn't have Pikachu's pokeball with him.

Instead, Brock had Pikachu. The mouse hadn't been around lately anyway. It was always off with Eevee, or doing something else. Ash felt guilty, because he never even had time to worry about his partner. Had he told Pikachu what he was going to do that day, he wouldn't of been alone. There would have been no stopping him from coming.

Sceptile appeared before him, confused. Once he saw his trainer on the floor and struggling to get back up, he was ready to battle. He wasn't even put down when he saw the enemy he would be facing.

Another Pokémon walked up to him. Paul's Drapion. Giratina seemed a little beat up, and didn't look like it would be fighting with Mewtwo this time.

"Why are you down here, Mewtwo!?" Ash shouted up at it.

"I was hoping you'd ask that." Ash's eyes followed Mewtwo as he glided in the air. "You see, I've just called on all my friends to come here. This is the place we shall be meeting before we set out to kill your kind."

Now there was a timer. If all the legendary Pokémon made it here, he and Paul would have no chance at all. So it would be better to get this over and done with.

"Sceptile, bullet seed!" Ash commanded. Sceptile launched itself high to match Mewtwo's flying and shot the seeds forward with lightning speed. Paul shouted a command that Ash didn't hear, and Drapion's claws began to glow purple. Mewtwo laughed and dodged the bullet seed. It's eyes glowed and Drapion was lifted into the air.

"Break free, Drapion!" Paul shouted up to his Pokémon.

"Sceptile, leaf blade while Mewtwo holds Drapion!" Sceptile tried for a back attack, and it looked like he was going to hit.

Mewtwo dropped Drapion down, where it hit the floor painfully, swirled, and pushed Sceptile back.

"He's too strong!"

"We need to use dark types!"

Mewtwo laughed. "I know you, Ash. You have no dark types."

"That's where you're wrong." Ash grinned and grabbed another pokéball. _Please listen to me, _He prayed inside his head, and threw the ball.

It was a good job Ash had caught that Zoroark.

"Zoroark, I need you to listen to me." Ash had tried this many times before. While Ash spoke to Zoroark, Paul tried to keep Mewtwo busy.

"Why should I?"

"Because if you don't, you'll die." Ash pointed up to Mewtwo.

"A Mewtwo? Psychic? Easy." Zoroark seemed to smirk, but Ash couldn't tell.

"So, you'll listen?"

"Just for today, human."

"Okay, well, use Dark Pulse!" Zoroark took Mewtwo from behind with a powerful Dark Pulse.

"It's super effective." Paul winked over. Mewtwo turned and tried to counter with Psystrike. But, of course, Zoroark was immune.

"Fool. You cannot beat me just using a single dark type." It laughed and began charging an Aura Sphere.

"Zoroark, use Night Daze!"

"Go, Honchkrow!" Paul shouted, and then added, "Two dark types, actually."

Night Daze hit its target, followed by Night Shade from Honchkrow. There wasn't much Mewtwo could do about the pesky dark types, except try to dodge and use Aura Sphere; the only move it knew that wasn't Psychic.

Aura Sphere flew across the clearing towards Zoroark, but Zoroark countered with Night Shade, and the two collided with a bang.

Another Aura Sphere hit Honchkrow and knocked it out of the sky. Then Ash realized, they actually had Mewtwo scared. It wasn't thinking about what it was doing properly, just lashing out randomly. He would pay the price now.

"Zoroark, use Foul Play!" Ash commanded, as Honchkrow raised itself again. Foul Play uses the enemy's attack instead of Zoroark's, so Mewtwo's power could be used against it. Mewtwo's attack was higher than Zoroark's, and the attack was dark. Paul realized what Ash was doing and distracted Mewtwo with Aerial Aces and Night Shades.

Foul Play hit Mewtwo right on target, making its back arch. It seemed to choke, but Ash knew he had drained most of his power.

Mewtwo coughed and spluttered. The psychic aura around it began to fade.

"So you see, Mewtwo. We have won." Ash smirked at it, feeling confident with all five of his Pokémon ready to fight. "You never even had a chance."

"But…" Mewtwo choked. "What are you going to do now? The rest of the legendary Pokémon are getting closer every second. No matter how weak I am, I can still order them. You don't have the guts to kill me." It laughed. And it was right. No matter how evil it was, Ash wouldn't be able to kill it. But he didn't have to.

Ash reached for the empty pokéball in his pocket. Paul gasped, how had he come across one of those?

A master ball.

It was the last thing Mewtwo saw before the red light engulfed him. He was weak, so he could not fight it. The ball fell to the floor, rolled only once, and stopped.

"Oh my god…" Paul whispered to himself, and picked up the ball by his feet. "Ash, you have a Mewtwo!"

"I don't think I'll ever use it." Ash walked over to Paul.

"At least we beat him." Paul handed the master ball to Ash, who re-attached it to his belt. "Oh, Ash…" He pointed and Ash turned. In the distance, a large group of legendary's appeared. Palkia, Dialga, Articuno, Moltres and Rayquaza were among the ones at the front. They stopped in front of the two boys and looked confused for a moment.

"What do we do?" Paul whispered. Ash held up the Master Ball for them all to see, and they understood completely. Calmly and happily, they turned and glided away into the distance. Somehow, Ash knew they wouldn't bother the people above anymore.

"To be honest, I wasn't expecting to be alive right now." Ash's face twisted. "The entrance to this place closed behind me, Paul. We're stuck."

"I knew I would be when I came down here. I just didn't have any choice." He frowned.

"At least I have a bit of company." Ash laughed sadly. "I think I should do this." He took the master ball and threw it as high as he could into the air. Paul waited for it to fall back down, but it didn't.

May sat on the pavement, staring at the floor. She had been there for two hours, at least. She was convinced Ash was going to come back up. Behind her, Dawn bit her nails and walked back and forth.

"May, come on, it's getting dark." Dawn whispered as nicely as she could to her. "I think maybe it would be best if…" She held back her tears. "…If we let go of Ash. There's a chance that he didn't even survive battling Mewtwo…"

"I want to stay here a bit longer." May stated calmly. "You don't have to wait."

"It's okay, I will." Dawn sat beside her. Drew, Brock, Misty and even Brendan had left to the Pokémon centre to report Ash falling, but there was no point. Jenny and Joy had already seen. There was nothing they could do.

Suddenly, something began to form on the pavement in front of them. It took a circular shape, and it became clear that it was a Pokéball. May reached out and grabbed it quickly. It was a master ball.

"Ash…" May smiled, tears falling onto the ball in her hands. "He did it."

"Mewtwo's in there?" Dawn took hold of the ball. "Oh…"

"Wait a minute." Paul looked up. "That ball… it was taken back up to the surface, right?"

Ash stayed silent for a moment. "The entrance didn't close?"

"It did." Paul stared up at the Purple sky. "But the exit didn't."

Almost ten minutes later, Dawn began to shiver from the cold. She desperately wanted to go, but she didn't want to abandon May.

"We can go now." May stood up. "I'm being stupid." Her eyes were still red from crying and that frown never left her face. She turned to walk away, when another figure began to form where the ball just had.

"Ash!?" She screamed, and jumped to touch the purple shape. She felt the cool touch of someone's skin. Now the tears were flowing again, but they were tears of joy.

The figure suddenly became colourful and fell to the floor, and May froze. Ash had black hair, not purple. This wasn't Ash, this was…Paul?

"Paul!" Dawn knelt beside him, shaking him. He sat up groggily and rubbed his head.

"What? Dawn?"

"I thought you were dead?" She smiled, and pulled him in for a hug, which made him freeze in place. May just stared.

"Paul? I… Is Ash…?"

"Ash is…" Paul began, but was cut off by the next figure forming on the pavement.

"I knew it!" May shouted happily. "I knew he'd make it back!" She grabbed him and hugged him before he'd even re-appeared fully.

"I was starting to think you'd never come back." She said, keeping tight a hold of him. She felt him wrap his arms around her too.

"Oh, so you two finally got together?" Paul chuckled. "About time."

Dawn slapped Paul on the arm lightly and helped him up.

"Finally." Dawn sighed. "Maybe things can go back to normal now."

"It depends what you call normal." Ash rolled his eyes.

"So how did you do it?" May asked excitedly.

"Zoroark." Ash said calmly, forgetting about the things it had done to her. Her face screwed up a little.

"It was my only option." He frowned. "Or I wouldn't have used him."

"I think we should go back to the Pokémon centre." Dawn smiled. And so they did. Ash and May, hand in hand, and Dawn and Paul laughing.

_Three weeks later_

May strapped her little yellow bag around her waist and strapped her bandana around her head.

The group had spent two weeks after the incident at her gym, and she didn't mind. Then Dawn and Drew had decided to go on a journey to Unova. Misty and Paul had gone on a journey to Kanto again, but just as friends. Maybe they would come back as more than friends. Brock had returned to his gym for a while, taking Brendan with him. Brendan had become good friends with most of them over the weeks. Now it was Ash and May's turn to leave.

They would go to Sinnoh, where Ash would get the rest of his gym badges and May would try to get five ribbons in time for the Grand Festival. Maybe later on, Brock would join them.

May smiled at the picture of her and Ash on her bedside table once before descending the stairs and entering the sitting room. Strange, Ash wasn't here.

She looked around a bit before concluding that he wasn't ready yet.

"Ash! Are you nearly ready to leave!?" She shouted up. No answer.

"Ash!?"

Still no answer.

She climbed the stairs again and knocked on his door. No answer still. So she opened the door and looked inside.

Her heart sped up and a lump formed in her throat. Tears formed in her eyes as she trembled at the sight of the room he had been staying in.

A trail of blood led from the middle of the room to the window. A rather large handprint was stained on the wall in it. Several things had been broken, as if there'd been a struggle.

The window was open.

Ash was nowhere to be seen.

She ran to the window and screamed his name once more, but the only answer she got was the singing of the wind and birds as the sun rose in the sky.

And they'd all thought things were going back to normal.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks to:<strong>

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**Also thanks to the people who reviewed almost every chapter. I really appreciate it. :D**

**Currently this story has 9,736 views. I only hope that number continues to rise.**

**Until I start the sequel,**

**Ninja.**


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